Lurking Monsters (On Hiatus)
by ZerothMask
Summary: Despite the common belief, Grimm aren't the only monsters that scour the world of Remnant. Mortals beware, for you are no longer safe. They wander and roam in search of victims. The dead will dance, all of hell shall sing and the vampires will take walks because someone couldn't bother hooking up some damned DSL.
1. Lust Unchained

**You may be wondering, "What the hell is this?! Why are you starting up a new story?!" Well, I have two words for that: Blame smstanton. I had a plot bunny that I wanted to leave alone. And then he swoops in and decides, "Hey! Why not do this and add some bits of this!" This is what you've done smstanton! This is what you've caused!**

 **Moving on from that, I want to thank DragonManMax for helping with that make-out scene. Much appreciation!**

 **Now, I must all warn you that this will contain x-over elements from other series. Please keep that in mind, and I also express my advance apologies.**

 **Oh, and the timeline. Before I forget, it** **'s practically the normal timeline except for two important factors - The Breach has already happened, yet the Dance has not. Instead, it is situated a day before the Vytal Festival. And of course, after Volume 3 events, it'll diverge off.**

 **That** **'s everything that should be brought to your attention, read and review!**

* * *

 **Beacon's Rooftop**

If one were to be awake right now, they would hear the sounds of metals clashing against each other from rooftop on Beacon's dorms despite it being ten o' clock in the night. Well, a certain blond and redhead were sparring on said roof top, their weapons creating sparks as they both clashed.

Jaune dashed back to dodge a swing from Pyrrha's xiphos, before he took a step forward and performed an overhead strike. Pyrrha raised up Akuou and deflected the sword, right before performing a spinning slash.

Jaune reacted and blocked the attack, making him stumble back. Pyrrha charged at her partner, Milo raised up. The blond noticed and quickly rolled away, the xiphos striking the floor instead. Using this to his advantage, Jaune went for a low sweep.

Pyrrha jumped over his leg and sent a jump kick to Jaune's face, sending him down. The blond rolled over, quickly recovering and charged at Pyrrha. The two clashed once more in the middle of the rooftop.

The partners tried to push off the other in a surprisingly even stalemate. Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other in the eye with a playful grin and an excited look. The champion's hand glowed with an outline of black, signifying the use of her Semblance.

Jaune saw the glow and didn't react in time. Pyrrha pushed her hand forward, outlining Jaune with black. The blond was then pushed back, allowing Pyrrha to continue attacking him. She swung her weapon with fierce precision and swift attacking speed. The champion didn't give her partner any time to react, recover or even block.

Performing another spin slash, she sent Jaune flying, crashing against the ground. The Arc groaned and rolled himself up, still in the fight. He looked at Pyrrha and charged with surprising speed.

Pyrrha was not ready. She didn't have time to block Jaune's strike, sending her stumbling back. The blond followed up with a series of combos, striking Pyrrha at her chest. Jaune took a second to stop and raised Crocea Mors into the air, which would prove to be his undoing.

Once more, Pyrrha used her Semblance on Jaune, lifting him up in to the air. The blond's eyes widened, feeling his feet touch the air. The redhead looked at her partner with a cheeky grin, making Jaune sigh in defeat.

"Alright, I concede."

The black outline around him disappeared, dropping him. He quickly reacted, flipping himself into a kneeling position and stuck the landing. Pyrrha smiled approvingly and sauntered over to Jaune. The Spartan placed away her weapons and stopped in front of her partner.

"Very impressive, Jaune. Your skills are vastly improving in an impressive rate despite having no prior training whatsoever. Your reflexes and reaction skills have heightened. Your muscles have gotten quite buff. And your stamina has increased." An affectionate smile then made its way on Pyrrha's face. "Slowly but surely, you're becoming an outstanding Huntsman, the one you've always dreamed about."

Jaune smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he put away Crocea Mors. "Heheh, thanks Pyrrha. But I gotta give credit due when it's due. It's mostly thanks to you that I'm like this now. You helped me quite a lot and believed in me since day one." The sheepishness disappeared and was replaced with a gentle expression. "You're...my rock."

An atomic blush spread its way through Pyrrha's face, as she fought the urge to just smack her lips on Jaune's make him hers. The blond looked up, staring at the star-studded sky.

"You know? It's nice to see the moon whole again."

 **RECORD SCRATCH**

" _What?_ _"_

Pyrrha looked up and silently gaped, seeing that the usually shattered moon was completely whole. The redhead unconsciously took a step back, which was gladly unnoticed by Jaune. It...was actually whole. Pyrrha's eyes steadily widened as she began to internally panic. And her panic intensified when its usually pale light turned blood red, in her eyes at least.

 _"No! Nonononononononononono! Is it really that time already?! How did it all go so fast?! How was I not able to notice it?! This is bad, this is bad, this is completely bad! I need to hide_ _._ _N_ _ow!"_

Jaune noticed Pyrrha sweating all of a sudden. He faced his partner and looked at her with worry. "You alright there, Pyr?" asked Jaune, which made Pyrrha 'eep' in surprise. "You're kinda sweating a lot."

Again, Pyrrha started to panic and tried to stutter out an excuse, saying it was quite hot. Jaune quirked an eyebrow, feeling the cool breeze brush against his face.

"Uh, you sure Pyr? It's actually a cold night right now. Just earlier, you complained about it."

A drip of sweat rushed down Pyrrha's forehead, trying to make up another excuse. When she made none, she quickly went with the best Plan B. Run away! Pyrrha turned tail and dashed off, leaving her partner in the dust

Jaune's eyes widened and reached out to her. "Wait, Pyr! What about training?!"

"LET'SFINISHEARLYINEEDTOGODOSOMETHINGGOODWORKJAUNE!" she shouted in rapid succession.

Jaune blinked and scratched the back of his head. "Huh. I wonder what she needs to do." The blond shrugged and decided to head out to the workout room. "Probably some girl stuff.

* * *

 **JNPR Dorm Room**

Pyrrha slammed the door open and quickly rushed into the bathroom, closing it behind her. She stumbled towards the mirror and started panting heavily. Her skin began to turn pale, almost white. Her canines growing sharper and longer. Her usual emerald green eyes started to flicker, before it fully turned to a crimson red. Pyrrha clenched her hand against the bathroom sink, cracking it as her panting grew heavier.

The redhead's hair gained highlights of black, right at the tip, sort of becoming a reverse version of Ruby's hair color. Pyrrha's breathing began to get steady, her hands no longer cracking the poor porcelain appliance.

The champion slowly stepped back, observing herself in her changed form. "It's that time again." she spoke in a tone of nostalgia. "I've become my vampire-self."

Yes. You've read that right. Pyrrha Nikos is indeed a vampire since birth. She's been hiding her true self to avoid rejection from her friends. But it was mostly so she doesn't give in to the temptation of biting anyone.

Her true form is forced out every time the broken moon manages to form whole, but this occasion only happens once every millennia.

Pyrrha sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to remember the process to shift herself back in her human form. Last time she did was four year ago. However, her mind accidentally wandered to a bat. And in a puff of smoke, Pyrrha transformed into exactly that, making her panic even more.

 _"Aaah! No! This is not what I wanted!_ _This is the exact opposite_ _!"_

She looked around, trying to see a possible escape route. But to her shock, there was none. She had closed the door behind her. It's impossible for her to fit through the vents. And the windows were closed shut. What's probably worse is that she couldn't even remember how turn back into her human form.

 _"Oh this is very bad! I need to get out of here and fast! But I need_ _oppose-able_ _thumbs or hands to do that...but I have none of those right now at my current state!"_

Then the door flung open, revealing a sweaty, yet smiling Jaune Arc, wearing nothing more than a blue muscle shirt and track pants, having decided to finish his workout earlier.

Pyrrha internally squealed at the sight of her crush, before reminding herself of her situation.. _"Oh no! Not now!"_ But then she noticed door was slightly ajar, giving her a glimmer of hope. _"Wait! This is my chance! I_ _just have to_ _-"_

And Jaune closed the door.

 _"Oh for Oum's sake!"_

Jaune smiled and walked into the shower stall, which was where Pyrrha just so happen to hide in. The bat started to gain a healthy atomic of red on her cheeks, the panic intensifying. _"Please don't tell me he's gonna be taking off his clothes!"_

The blond smiled and cracked his joints, letting out a pleasurable groan. "Man, today's training was awesome. I really need to find away to thank for Pyrrha for helping out a dork like me. Wonder what she sees in an idiot like me?"

Pyrrha frowned and would've smacked him on the head if it weren't for the fact she was currently a bat right now. _"Jaune, you are most definitely not an idiot! You've changed so much! You just have to believe in yourself!"_

Then Pyrrha remembered where she was and continued to panic. Her panicking intensified once she saw Jaune reaching for the hem of his shirt.

 _"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! He's gonna strip, and right before me too! I need to-"_

Jaune started to bring up his shirt, slowly taking it off and unknowingly revealed his upper body to Pyrrha. The redhead tried to look anywhere but Jaune as the aforementioned male continued to strip.

 _"I musn't look, I'm strong! I musn't look, I'm strong! I musn't look, I'm strong! I musn't look, I'm strong! I musn't look, I'm strong! I musn't look, I'm-"_

Pyrrha stopped her mantra as Jaune's glorious chest was revealed to her. A drip of blood, somehow, flowed out from her nose as she could only mentally say two things.

 _"I'm weak..."_

Pyrrha's face slowly turned lewd as Jaune shook off his track pants, showing him in his cute Pumpkin Pete boxers, a big bulge shaping up in his crotch area.

 _"Oh my! Look at him...his pecs, his biceps, his abs! I...did that! I've turned Jaune into this wonderful specimen of an Adonis! And oh by the family of Hellsing, that bulge! Just how big is he?! Jaune, just staring at you, you're starting to turn more and more_ _irresistible_ _to bite~"_

The spray of a water showered down on Jaune, dampening his entire body. He grabbed a bar of soap and started scrubbing the grime and dirt off of him. Pyrrha could only lick her lips, the thought of biting Jaune becoming more and more appealing. As much as she didn't want to do it, it was very hard when the target of your affection is in front of you, practically naked, dripping him wet and pretty much displaying himself like meat in a slaughterhouse.

 _"_ _Mother,_ _Father,_ _please forgive me._ _But I can't control myself anymore. I NEED him so badly!"_

If there was one thing Pyrrha's parents engraved into her head, it was just one thing: Never turn anyone into a vampire.

Through instinct, Pyrrha slowly descended as she began to slowly shift back into her human form. Pyrrha dropped down onto the floor, making a loud thumping sound. Jaune spun around and let out a small meep of surprise.

"Aaah! Pyrrha, how long have you been there and when?!"

The redhead didn't say anything as a sultry and seductive smile slowly curved and placed itself on her lips, making Jaune slightly more nervous, and also a bit excited.

"U-Um, Pyr?"

Pyrrha closed her eyes, taking a moment to brace herself for what she was about to say. "I haven't been very honest with you, Jaune."

Jaune blushed, hearing the accent in Pyrrha's voice, thinking it was very sexy. "Um, that's...alright Pyr. It's perfectly normal if there are somethings you haven't been honest with me. That's what secrets are for."

"But this secret is something I've been keeping about ever since we've met!" said Pyrrha.

Looking quite unsure, Jaune took a guess on what his best friend was talking about. "Are you a… Faunus?"

Pyrrha blinked at him confusingly, not quite sure what he meant, before remembering what she said prior to him saying that. "Oh! I am not a Faunus." she looked away, blushing quite a bit. "I'm...something else." The redhead sighed, before looking straight into the blond's eyes. "Jaune...do you believe in monsters?"

"Uh, I don't have to believe in them because the Grimm exist."

Pyrrha shook her head. "No, not Grimm. But the monsters in stories - like vampires and werewolves."

"Well, maybe some time when I was a young, but now? Well, I really don't think they exist." Jaune rubbed the back of his head, before questioning, "Wait, what does this have to do with that?"

The redhead looked at Jaune straight in the eye and sighed, finally revealing the truth. "I'm a vampire."

None of them spoke for about ten minutes, before the silence was shattered by an awkward laugh from Jaune, disbelief clearly written on his face. "Ha ha ha ha ha! That's a, that's a really funny joke, Pyr. There's no way you're a vampire! You're too beautiful to be one."

Immediately after he said that, Jaune smacked his hand on his lips, as both him and Pyrrha gained a healthy blush on their faces.

 _"Ah crapbaskets! I just said that out loud, didn't I?"_

 _"H-_ _H_ _e thinks I'm beautiful?"_

The two of them could only look at each other, blushes still on their faces. Pyrrha took another step forward, looking at him with hope. "D-Do you really mean that?"

"Yeah, of course I do. Heck, I thinking you're hotter than Yang! Only a complete idiot wouldn't see how gorgeous you are."

Somewhere in the various other universes and timelines, more than a thousand versions of himself sneezed simultaneously.

Pyrrha's blush deepened and intensified, becoming the color of her eyes; blood. The redhead twiddled her fingers quite shyly and looked at Jaune, the look of hope never leaving her face. "You…really mean that?"

Now, it was Jaune's turn to blush, before looking at Pyrrha and placing his hand on hers. "Of course! A thousand times, even. You're one of the most beautiful people I've ever met. Not only that, you're kind, courageous, helpful, gorgeous and awesome. I'm, so glad that you and I are friends. Best friends even! And I, uh, kinda want to move further than that."

The redhead could only look in shock. The very object of her affection felt the same way as her! But she shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. She had to make sure!

"W-What do you mean by that, Jaune?" she asked timidly.

Jaune took a deep breath, before exhaling it all out. He looked directly into Pyrrha's crimson eyes and gave her a smile. "What I mean is, I love you, Pyrrha Nikos."

Pyrrha swore her heart skipped a beat when he said that. Her mind took a minute to fully process what he had just said before it finally dawned on her. Her crush felt the same way as her!

This was now the best moment in her life! But it would also be her worst, as the desire to change him overlapped every priority in her mind.

Running her hands over his shoulders Pyrrha pulled him closer, and her body's heat exchanging with his. Leaning over her from his very small height advantage, Jaune wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close. Arching her back, Pyrrha could barely take it any more. Rubbing her face up his chest, she felt her hot breath coming back to send tingles across her face, and over Jaune's sensitive skin. Whispering a barely audible 'I'm sorry', she opened her mouth near silently, sinking her fangs into his neck, before drinking that life giving elixir as her mind spiraled into a barely controlled hazy heat, which washed over her.

Moaning softly as her lips pressed softly against his neck, Jaune kissed down her head as she sucked him of his blood, which was something he didn't notice. Making things awkward with his positioning, Jaune made Pyrrha detach herself, a small string of blood and saliva still trailing from his neck, but the natural painkilling factors of her saliva was already numbing the pain easily. Moving one of his much larger hands upwards, he cupped her face gently, kissing her for the first time properly. His lips fit against hers, in a way which was almost too fairy-tale to be true. Retracting for not even a moment to get some of that unfortunately much needed oxygen, he kissed her again, more passionate this time.

Moaning slightly, Pyrrha felt her lips open, making an opportunity for Jaune, who had been growing bolder and more confident by the second, to lick the insides of her lips slightly, probing his tongue against her teeth. Wrapping her arms around his chest, Pyrrha felt herself intoxicated, and opened her mouth to accept his advances, her own tongue rising to meet his own in a duel of intellectual wit. Somehow far too soft, his tongue ran through the insides of her mouth, ravaging it in ways she thought impossible, even as she slithered her owns against his, their hot and wet exchange of saliva continuing, with heated breaths and wordless noises.

Pulling back, he rubbed his nose against hers slightly, phenomenally close to her face, but she didn't find herself complaining for an instant. Staring into his deep ocean blue eyes with her much dark crimson ones, Pyrrha waited for him to speak as he kissed her on the forehead again and looked at her in concern.

"You taste like blood. Are your gums okay?"

"They're just fine." Though immediately, she shifted her eyes to the left, something Jaune noticed.

"Pyr?" he asked gently. "What did you do?"

She immediately felt guilty and led him to the mirror. There, she pointed right at his neck for him to see. Two small holes - a bite mark was on his neck. Jaune looked at in shock and placed his hand over it, feeling. And that was when he noticed his skin was noticeably paler, his eyes more focused and the pupils were gone. He opened up his mouth, seeing his canines much sharper than what they should be.

Pyrrha looked down, feeling guilty of her actions. "I'm sorry Jaune… I bit you and converted you into a vampire."

Jaune took a minute to process al He faced his partner with a look of utmost seriousness and took her hand in his. The blond pulled her in and engaged once again in another lip lock with her. Immediately, all guilt was washed away from Pyrrha as she ensnared her arms around him to pull him in deeper for the kiss.

Eventually, the two detached from one another, a string of saliva trailing from their mouths. Jaune cupped Pyrrha's chin and looked at her with love and affectionate.

"I don't care. This changes nothing - I'm still me, and you're still you." A teasing grin curved on Jaune's face, placing his hand over his chest. "And I'm thankful that you chose me to be your servant, my mistress."

Pyrrha blushed yet again and playfully smacked him on the shoulder. "I thought you didn't care about monsters?"

"I didn't. Doesn't mean I stopped learning about them."

Pyrrha giggled and settled on leaning against Jaune's chest, content on listening to his heart beat. The newly made vampire smiled, playing with his new mistress's hair.

Every males present in Beacon Academy felt the sudden urge to go find Jaune and give him a toast and a congratulatory pat on the back. They couldn't find out why, but they just did.

* * *

 **At the Outskirts of Mistral**

A mansion stood at the very outskirts of Mistral, isolated from civilization. It was quite large, almost ten acres in total amount of land. It had four levels, and was built in an old-style type of building. On the second level were three figures, conversing about something in an office-like room.

One is a tall, thin man with wrinkly skin, who is wearing black dress pants, a white dress shirt with a purple tie, and a purple vest. A pair of black gloves, and his long black hair tightly bound in a ponytail. He had blue eyes and he also wore a monocle, which is resting on the bridge of his nose.

The other is a female with creamy brown skin, blue eyes and long blonde hair. She has a tall, thin build, almost to the point of being lanky. Her attire consists of a black blazer and black dress pants, a white buttoned shirt, black shoes and a red cravat. She's also wearing a pair of circular wire-rimmed glasses and a pair of white gloves.

The last is a male, whose attire was comprised of a charcoal suit, leather riding boots, and an intricately knotted red cravat, covered by a full-length, and red frock overcoat with a cape. He also wore a red fedora with a wide, floppy brim and a pair of circular, heavily tinted, wire-framed orange sunglasses with goggle sidings. He's also wearing a pair of white gloves, a five-pointed seal adorning their backs.

The female looked at the male in red, her hands clasped and her eyebrows raised. "What did you just say, Alucard? I don't believe I've heard it correctly."

"I have to agree with Master Integra. It's quite hard to believe what you've just said." said the first male.

The second male, Alucard, adjusted his glasses and looked at the two.

"What is there not to believe, Master, Walter? It's just as I've said - my daughter foolishly turned someone into her fledgling. She bit someone and turned whoever it was into a vampire."

Walter, presumably the one in the butler-like outfit, posed a question. "But why would Miss Pyrrha do that?"

Alucard walked up to the back of the room, where a box was located. He picked it up and opened the container, revealing various envelopes, presumably containing letters. "If her letters are anything to go by, it's a possibility that her lust took over and she bit the boy she's been pinning for."

"That, and the fact it's a full moon." pointed out Integra.

"Indeed." agreed Walter. "Although, I would've thought Miss Pyrrha would have more restraint than that."

Alucard faced the two and had a grin on his face. "And as according to her letters, the boy was oblivious to her feelings. It's possible she was frustrated and took matter into her own hands."

Walter and Integra looked at each other, before the latter groaned. "Great, now there's a new vampire and it's possible he's panicking."

The red-clad vampire's grin turned sinister as he faced the two. "And that's why I'll be visiting her. Beacon has a Parent-Teacher Conference tomorrow, and after all, I am required to attend."

"Shouldn't it be Miss Aphrodite who's attending?" asked Walter. As it was common knowledge that the female parents were the ones to usually attend such things.

Alucard frowned. "Unfortunately, she's a bit swamped with her work. She gained a few more offers to model some products." He scoffed and crossed his arms. "Why did she have to work as a model of all things?"

Integra smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you the one to tell her, 'Flaunt yourself and show what true beauty is'?"

"Touche." He uncrossed his arms and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Integra looked at Walter and asked, "What do you think will happen, Walter?"

"In all honesty?" asked Walter. "Given how overprotective Alucard is to Miss Pyrrha, I'd definitely say he'll tort- I mean, test the poor boy if he is worthy to be dating a vampire princess."

The blonde nodded in agreement. "My sentiments exactly." A moment passed, before Integra asked something to her butler. "By the way, what is the name of the boy Pyrrha hass been pinning over?"

Walter walked up to the box containing the letters and picked up one randomly. He opened it up and read through the letter, his eyes widening significantly. "Oh dear."

This brought some slight fear into Integra's face as she straightened herself. "What. Is it?"

Walter looked at his employer with a look of surprise. "The boy's name is Jaune Arc."

Integra blinked, processing that information. "Aren't the Arcs related with Alexander Anderson?!"

"You are absolutely right, Master Integra." said Walter.

She slumped against her chair, feeling a migraine forming in her head. "Oh fuck all kinds of ducks."

* * *

 **The Church of Oum - Arcadia**

Inside of a church was a male with short, spiky gold hair, blue eyes, a defined squared jaw, and light facial hair, a large, wedge-shaped scar on his left cheek. The male wore round glasses, a large white cassock with blue trim and interior, black pants, black boots, a black shirt with blue trim, white gloves and a golden cross around his neck.

The lights were off, the only thing giving the room light were the candles, which barely lit up the entire building. He walked up to the statue of a crucified Monty Oum, before he felt a shiver go through his spine. He looked down before a frown appeared on his lips.

"You broke your promise, ya bloody bastard." He looked back up at Oum before walking up to the doors. "I have no other choice then. Now it's up to me to fix what you've sowed. For God to forgive us for the taint you've caused."

Bayonets popped out from the male's sleeve and into his hands. He twirled them around and clashed them into a cross, sparking them enough to show his frown as he recited a creed.

"It is the Sacred Duty of the Iscariot Organization to punish the demon, the heretic and the false god. Kill them all, and let God sort them out."


	2. Confrontations

**I did NOT expect the amount of support this received. But I can** **'t exactly complain, can I? Also, a little specification - the Hellsing characters will receive a mixture of their Abridged and Ultimate personalities.**

 **Both Seras AND Pip will appear in the later chapters. There is no need to worry.**

 **That** **'s everything that should've been brought to you attention. Go, and read and review!**

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha smiled, walking as their arms were linked and their hands intertwined. The both of them entered the cafeteria, where every male student was staring right at them. This served to unnerved the couple, wondering why they were doing such thing.

Much to their confusion, Cardin had a smirk on his face as he began clapping. Soon followed his team, who had what seemed to be proud looks on their faces. Ren smiled and started clapping as well, with Team SSSN joining in. Not long, pretty much the entire male populace started clapping and cheering. At first, they thought it was at Pyrrha, but soon realized that it was all directed to Jaune.

"Uh, what's going on?" tentatively asked the blond.

Cardin stood up, holding a cup filled with juice. Most of the male students followed suit, holding their own cup. The Winchester gave an honest to God smile and raised his cup.

"Here's a toast to brother Jaune! He's ascended from out brotherhood and has been converted into a man! Our brother Jaune, just got laid!"

"Cheers!" shouted out every male student. They all brought their cups to their mouths and downed the contents of their respective cup.

Weiss stood up and quirked an eyebrow, her face expressing the look of confusion and slight anger mixed in, a bit of red on her cheeks. "And just how on Remnant do you know that, Winchester? Did you spy on them?"

Sun snorted and explained. "Don't get your panties in a bunch, Ice Queen. It's just a sixth sense we guys have. We instantly know when one of ours gets laid."

Nora faced her childhood friend and asked for a confirmation. "Renny? Is that true?"

The zen master nodded, which was all the confirmation Nora needed.

Jaune blinked for what seemed to be the fiftieth time, before deciding to just roll with out. "Oh right, the Brotherhood of the Bros. I almost forgot about that." He looked at everyone before nodding. "Uh, thanks, I guess."

Pyrrha looked down, trying her best to hide the atomic blush on her face. While yes, she and Jaune did explore each others bodies for half an hour after she bit him, but they didn't exactly do the deed yet- that's nor the point!

She wanted to keep her relationship with Jaune a secret until she found the perfect time to introduce him to her family. But now it already spread like wildfire all because of a guy's so called "sixth sense."

Jaune tugged at Pyrrha for a small bit, making the redhead look into the blond's eye. Pyrrha saw Jaune's comforting look, making her smile a bit. She snuggled into Jaune's neck, content in basking in his scent and resting her head on his shoulders.

The couple walked towards the table where Ren and Nora sat, with Team RWBY sitting besides them. After immediately, Yang quickly pulled in Pyrrha, as she and the other girls engaged in interrogation. Ren was just content with giving Jaune a congratulatory smile.

"Looks like you've done it, Jaune. You got your girl." said Ren. The zen master took a quick glance at Nora, before sighing. "If only I could man up and confess to mine."

Jaune smiled and patted his brother from another mother on the back. "Don't worry, Ren. You'll get there sooner or later."

Meanwhile with the girls, Pyrrha was under a barrage of one question to another, mostly from Yang and Nora. Ruby was possibly quite excited as her OTP had just happened. Blake had no reaction, besides being happy for Pyrrha that she found love. Weiss was confused as to what Jaune had that would attrac Pyrrha.

Yang was barraging her with questions, most of them pretty inappropriate. "How many hours did you guys do it? How long did Jaune last? How many times did he make you hit the big O? Did you use protection? How big was he?"

Weiss had enough of the less than indecent questions and slapped her hand over the blonde's mouth, blushing quite heavily from Yang's questions. "I would prefer if you stop asking such questions, you brute!"

It's a good thing Ruby's mind was securely protected with her naivety, or else she would've been traumatized. "So, how did you guys confess?" asked Ruby. Every other girl leaned in forward, curious as to what the response will be.

Pyrrha's blush intensified, making her twiddle her fingers. She couldn't just flat out tell that she was a vampire that accidentally locked herself in the bathroom then confessed to Jaune when he started to shower. She'd lose her awesomeness credibility! She just had to completely improvise everything.

"Well, it actually happened in our shower room."

Nora frowned at this and pointed at the redhead with a dramatic finger. "You better had washed and disinfected everything!" That was ignored.

"Jaune had accidentally walked in on me while I was in, but I was very quiet, so he didn't notice I was in. By the time he was in the shower, well, things sort of just hit off. One thing led to another, and we ended up..."

The redhead stopped talking as she ended up remembering Jaune's transformation and then their… half-sexy time. Blood dripped down from her nose, her eyes becoming lidded and glazed over, a perverted smile curling on her lips.

Blake looked up from her book and deadpanned. "Great, we've lost her."

The cafeteria doors burst open, revealing a blond and a raven-haired male entering the room. The blond wore brown cargo shorts with a dark brown belt, black shoes, a red bandanna on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt with the right sleeve cut off. A metal spaulder, leather arm brace, and a brown finger-less glove, all on his right arm.

The raven-haired male had a red, tattered cloak, a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. He also wore a ring on his right index finger, two other rings on his right ring finger, and a necklace with a crooked cross-shaped pendant.

The blond stopped, looking around. "Did we miss the toast to our brother who's ascended in the Brotherhood?"

Mercury nodded, not even bothering to look up from his food. "Yep. You just missed it."

The blond sighed and pointed at the raven-haired male accusingly. "Darn it, Qrow! If you had just moved a little faster, we could've joined in on the toast and congratulate our brother who's joined in on the Cult of the Laid!"

The raven-haired male sighed and looked at the blond lazily. "Don't be so uptight, Tai. We're here for the Parent-Teacher Conference, not make a toast to the new member of the Cult of the Laid."

Jaune facepalmed. _"Damn it all. Pyrrha and I haven't reached that stage yet! We just confessed and explored! Why do they keep making that assumption?!"_

"So my fears have been realized. You did more than just turn him into your fledgling." said a voice from somewhere.

Pyrrha's skin paled, almost on par with snow. _"Oh no. That voice!"_

From the cafeteria wall, Alucard phased through, hands in his pocket, waltzing in unannounced with a grin on his face as he walked in. Everyone's jaws dropped, their eyes significantly widened at the man who just entered through the wall.

Pyrrha turned even paler as she stuttered. "F-Father!"

Jaune's eyes widened, looking at Alucard with fear laced all over his face, looking just as pale. _"Oh my God_ _,_ _he's gonna kill me!"_

Alucard walked up to his daughter, patting her head affectionately. "It's good to see you again, my princess. You've been doing well, I presume." He took off his hand and stared right at Jaune. "And this is the boy you've turned into your sexual fledgling."

The pale look in Pyrrha's face disappeared, replaced completely with an atomic blush. "F-Father, t-that's not true!"

The students looked at Pyrrha with shocked expressions. It's always the quiet ones who end up the most deviants.

Qrow and Tai slipped into a battle stance, just in case Alucard does anything. The red-cloaked male walked up to Jaune and parted his lips to speak, until a flurry of glowing scriptures seeped into the room, making all of the students look at it in curiosity and confusion. Tai and Qrow lowered their stance, content in looking at the pages with apprehension. Alucard didn't bother to look at the pages, knowing full well what it meant.

All of the pages fully converged, swirling to form a tall figure. The pages disappeared, replaced with the priest. Bayonets popped into the man's hands and ran up to Alucard with a ferocious glare.

"Alucard!"

The aforementioned male spun around to greet the priest, but was certainly surprised as the man swung his bayonet diagonally with blurry speed, dismembering the male's left arm and head off.

A hand gun materialized into Alucard's right hand in instinct. He took aim and fired at the priest's head, completely obliterating the priest's head. Tai quickly reacted and covered Ruby's eyes, as the others could only gape in horror at the bloody sight. Their faces gained a hue of green and almost puked, but luckily kept their breakfast.

The both of them were pushed back by the other's attack. They planted their foot down, skidding against the floor and stopping themselves from falling on the floor. Alucard stood straight, dark matter gathering around the stump of his limbs, regenerating back a confused look on his eyes. The same was with the priest, although the matter gathering on his neck was light, instead.

As soon as their wounds were healed, Alucard immediately questioned the man. "Anderson, what is the meaning of this? You dare attack me in a school full of innocent children?"

"Ya know full well why I attached you, you crazy vampire bas-" Anderson cut himself off, remembering that there where children in the room. He frowned and continued, censoring himself. "You bloody heathen. I'm here to kill ya for breaking the end of your deal!"

"Deal? What are you talking about?" asked the vampire with slight confusion.

Anderson growled and brandished his bayonets. "Don't act as if you don't know! You promised to never convert a mortal to your kind ever again! And what do you do?! You turned my nephew into one! How do you think his family's going to react when their only son is a bloody vampire?!"

Pyrrha lowered her head, the guilt from yesterday returning as one of the consequences she didn't think of was coming back to bite her. Meanwhile, everyone else was staring at Jaune in shock.

"You're related to Father Anderson?!" shouted almost everyone.

Jaune scratched the back of his head, chuckling nervously. "Ha ha, uh yeah. He's my great grand-uncle."

Alucard stared at his nemesis and tried to reason with him. "Stop with this foolishness, Anderson! Think rationally you Catholic Sociopath! I wasn't the one to-"

"Enough talk!" cut in Anderson. "It's time for you to bloody die!"

He grabbed his Bible and opened it up to a specific page. The priest slammed his hand down, causing the Bible to glow and disperse some of its pages. The pages created a huge outline around Alucard and Anderson, before it shined brightly and formed a large barrier around them. Anderson placed back his Bible, bayonets popping into his hand.

"There, a barrier so no one can get hit by the crossfire." Brandishing his weapons, Anderson glared at Alucard. "Come at thee!"

Alucard clicked his tongue, a second gun materializing into his left hand. He cocked them with lightning speed and began to repeatedly fire at the priest. Anderson let out a battle cry as he began to throw dozens of bayonets at the bullets, canceling each other out. The priest grinned and shouted out one of his favorite phrases.

"Bayonets for days!"

The vampire stopped firing for a moment and shook off his fedora and sunglasses, revealing his long midnight hair and his threatening red eyes. With a grin, he resumed firing, the bullets coming out at an even faster rate.

Anderson stopped his onslaught of bayonets and started swerving around the bullets, dodging them effectively. He twirled a bayonet in hand and tightly held it in a reverse grip. The priest started slashing it around, sending off blue arcs of holy energy towards Alucard.

Placing away his guns, Alucard jumped back with a smirk, heading straight for the holy barrier. He flipped and kicked himself off the barrier, launching himself towards his nemesis, drawing out his guns again as he assumed a dive bomb position. The blond Paladin roared and swung his two bayonet to meet his weapons with the vampire's. Their weapons clashed, exuding off a powerful force that caused a crater to form around the floor.

Grinning madly, Alucard pulled the trigger to add in the pressure, completely obliterating the both of Anderson's bayonets and as well as his arms. The priest gasped as he stumbled back from the force, now armless. Alucard landed in a kneeling position. He raised up his guns and started riddling Anderson with bullets. Anderson could only take it as he couldn't defend himself.

Most of the students were now puking out their breakfast at the gory display. They couldn't possibly stomach it in. Not after this gruesome battle. Cinder and her little group were struggling to not stray away, insistent on recording it to send it to their superiors later.

Holes covered most of Anderson's body, his head the only thing unscathed from the barrage of bullets. If anyone had trypophobia, they'd be really crept out and disguted just by looking at the body. Alucard blew on the barrel of the guns, blowing away the smoke. He placed away his guns and walked up to Anderson. He knelt down, looking at the priest in the eye.

"So, you got it all out yet?" asked the vampire.

Light surged through Anderson's entire body, regenerating back his severed limbs and flesh. He grabbed Alucard by the face and slammed it down on the floor. "Not yet!" Anderson started to drag the face of his nemesis across the ground, blood decorating the floor.

With a grunt, he threw him towards the barrier, and quickly pinned him from chest to toe with over a dozen of bayonets. Once again, two more bayonets popped into his hand. The priest clashed, forming a cross as he recited a verse from the Bible.

"Praise to our Lord! Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. We are nothing more but dust, and to the dust we shall return. Amen."

The blades of his bayonets glowed a holy white. He brandished them both before he swung his weapons in an x-motion, beheading Alucard, his blood showering out from his wound. Pretty much every student was now hungry again, but then lost their appetite in quick succession.

Anderson flicked off the blood on his bayonets, putting them away back into his hammer space, which was located in his sleeves. He adjusted his wrists and turned to face Jaune. "Now that that's over, it's high time you and I have a wee chat, Jaune."

He turned around to get Alucard's body, only to see his body was gone. "Oh son of a Protestant-!" Anderson really wanted to swear. He really did. But there were children in the room, so he's been censoring himself so they can keep their virgin ears.

Alucard materialized in front of Anderson and clocked him straight in the face, almost knocking him down. Anderson growled and retaliated with a punch that almost made Alucard stumble. The two then engaged in a fist fight, simultaneously hitting each other.

Alucard went for a punch in the gut, making Anderson spit out some blood. The priest retaliated by punching him on the cheek. A punch to the arm. A punch to the shoulder. A punch on the neck and a punch to the chest. Each and every attack exerting off a powerful force that would've shattered a stone pillar. With a roar, they punched each other in the face at the same time, pushing them back away from each other.

Blood dripped down from the corners of Alucard's mouth, drawing out his guns yet again. Anderson was the same state, bayonets in-hand yet again. The two rivals stared off into a Vacuon stand-off, waiting for the other to make a move.

Tai gritted his teeth and looked at his brother-in-law. "Aren't we gonna do something? Anything at all?"

Qrow shook his head, taking a swig from his flask. "There's absolutely no reason to worry, Tai. These two mean no harm to everyone inside this building - they're innocents, and they don't hurt the innocent. Trust me, I know."

Alucard narrowed his eyes and spoke. "You and I know that we're fully matched, Anderson. The end result will be the same. So, let me explain what actually happened before things really get out of hand." suggested the vampire.

Anderson said nothing as he stared at his equal opposite. He lowered his bayonets and placed them away. The priest called back the pages of the Bible, deactivating the barrier. The two walked up to an unoccupied table and sat by there. Before one of them could speak, Ozpin walked in to the cafeteria. He cleared his throat, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Alright everyone, we still have the Parent-Teacher Conference to go through. Please, go outside and meet up with your parents outside of the Headmaster's Office."

Anderson stood up and looked at Alucard, giving him a glare. "This isn't over yet, Alucard. Come on, Jaune" And he walked away, with his nephew in tow.

Pyrrha walked up to her father, a sad look on her face. She looked down on the ground, to ashamed to face him. "F-Father, I'm-"

She was cut off, Alucard raising his hand to stop her. "Explain yourself later after the conference." He stood up and walked away, his hands in his pockets. "We have much to discuss."

The redhead said nothing as she followed her father out of the room. The rest of the students went out of the cafeteria, while RWBY, Nora and Ren stared at the retreating figures.

"Well, that was a bit anticlimactic." commented Qrow.

Cinder and her little faction were shivering fear at the display they've witnessed. Salem had to be informed of the new threat. Their plans have to be reconstructed and reorganized to add these unaccounted variables into the equation.

* * *

 **Time Skip - JNPR Dorm Room**

Team JNPR, Alucard and Anderson were inside of dorm room, inspecting the dorm. Anderson nodded approvingly at the decor. "A nice room for four people. It's quite surprisingly spacious and well decorated."

"I'm a bit iffy that there's no divider." commented Alucard. He crossed his arms, a frown on his face. "I would've much preferred my vampire princess to have her purity lost with someone within my standards."

Ren spoke up. "That's been something plaguing my mind currently. I'm correct to assume that Pyrrha is a vampire?"

Alucard nodded. "That's right." He uncrossed his arms, looking at his daughter. "She has been ever since her birth. After all, her mother is a vampire as well."

Cue in the dropped jaws. Anderson gaped at his nemesis and had to adjust his spectacles before it fell off. "Are you telling me, that Aphrodite Nikos, quite possibly one of the most powerful Huntresses and one of the most voted hottest females in Remnant, is a bloody vampire?! Since when?!"

"Ever since I've proposed to her, of course." Alucard smiled wistfully, remembering the past. "She was quite the feisty one. Trying to kill me to prove herself worthy of being a Huntress. She was strong enough for me to go straight to Restraint Level 1. I decided to spare her and treat her because of how fun she was. We got talking, found out we had so much in common and then we hit it off. After years of dating, I decided to propose to her, by offering her to be my Countess. Of course, she accepted."

Nora awed at the story, while Pyrrha smiled at hearing it again. Anderson crossed his arms, eyebrow quirked. He was about to say something, before he closed his mouth. The priest stood up and went to the door and opened it up, Team RWBY falling into the room. Ruby squeaked as Anderson knelt down, looking at the four of them.

"Well, what do we have here? Four girls nosing into business they shouldn't be. That's a sin didn't you know." rhetorically said Anderson.

"How did you even know we were there?" asked Yang with wide eyes.

Anderson snorted and closed the door. "I've been taking care of orphans for decades. I know when children are leaning against the door to listen in on conversations." The priest looked at JNPR and posed a question. "So, what do we to 'em?"

Jaune sighed. "Just leave them be, Uncle Alex. They're usually like this. Besides, Pyrrha told me that she was planning to tell them after she got permission from her father." said the blond.

RWBY looked at each other, before picking themselves up and sat on Team JNPR's four-seat couch. Anderson stared back at Alucard and said what he was about to say. "And like I previously asked, when was that?"

"I had no way of controlling it, Anderson. My daughter is her own person with her own choices and desires." Alucard crossed his arms, a scathing glare forming on his face. "And besides, need I remind you of _that incident?_ _"_

Anderson flinched. He sighed and conceded. "Well, I guess I overreacted a bit then. You know how I am about family." He put away his hands, glaring at Pyrrha. "Which reminds me, I need to have a wee chat with your daughter."

"And I with your nephew." said Alucard. The Vampire King walked up to the blond Arc, grabbing him by the hood. He dragged him all the way towards the door, before stopping to look at Team RWBY. "May I borrow one of your Scrolls?"

Weiss shrugged and tossed hers to the red-cloaked male. Alucard caught it and went out to interrogate Jaune in RWBY's dorm room, grumbling something about "Pyrrha catching the 'Frenchmen Attraction Flu'. Whatever that is.

Before he entered, Alucard looked back and winked at the girls, giving them a smirk. "You don't have to worry. there won't be any sort of stains on your carpet."

The four of them blushed at the implication and tried their very best to not think of the scenario, and failing. Pyrrha managed to control herself from reacting, while Ren and Nora were a bit disgusted at the thought. Anderson looked like he swallowed a lemon and was about to puke.

Jaune meeped as he was tossed into RWBY's dorm room, with Alucard following. He spun around to close the door slowly, a grin that spelled sadistic excitement on his face. Everyone, barring Anderson, faced Pyrrha who looked concern.

"Should we be worried about Vomit Boy?" asked Yang.

 _"Vomit Boy? The hell kind of nickname is that?_ " thought Anderson

Pyrrha nodded "Well, given my father's track record of usually helping in Mistral's Interrogation Department, we should be VERY worried for my Jaune."

On the outside, she was cool as a cucumber. But in the inside, she was a panicking mess. This was the first time she EVER showed interest in anyone. And the way Alucard interrogates...let's just say the victims were quickly admitted to mental institutions after they were done.

"WAIT! NO! PLEASE DON'T TAKE THOSE OFF!"

The perverted ones, mainly Yang and Blake, all tried to restrain themselves from taking Jaune's shout WAY OUT OF CONTEXT. Anderson and Ren could sigh and shake their heads sympathetically for the blond.

The priest faced Pyrrha and slammed the table besides her, making the redhead jumpin surprise. Anderson stared at her intimidatingly, sweat starting to drip from her forehead. Anderson was about to interrogate, till he remembered Ruby was present.

"Can one of you cover the wee lass's ears?" gesturing to the Rosette.

Ruby pouted and placed her hand on her hips. "I'm NOT a kid anymore! I'm a grown-up. I fight Grimm, I drink milk!"

This quickly prompted Yang to plant her hands on her little sister's ears. And just for added measure, Blake blindfolded Ruby. Since according to Yang, they could read lip. Anderson nodded gratefully and faced back Pyrrha.

"Alright lass, why'd ya bite me nephew? Why'd ya fuckin' turn him into an undead being?! Did ya even think of the damned consequences you Protestant fuck-bucket?! Did ya?!"

Pyrrha lowered her head, her bangs shadowing her eyes. "Due to my father and my mother's over-protectiveness, I never had any friends. Then when I gained fame, my chances of getting any friends lowered. Everyone would either be intimidated by me, or try to be my friend just to get exposure. Jaune… Jaune wasn't like that. He didn't even know me, so I was glad. Then we became partners, rose up to become best friends and I developed feelings for him. But...I was very shy. I couldn't tell him how I felt. Then came the rare full moon, I couldn't possibly resist him since the way it affects vampires of my age, it releases our inhibition."

The red head looked away, red dusting her cheeks. "And it probably didn't help when I accidentally locked myself into the bathroom as a bat while he took a shower. He was there, displayed like meat for me to see. There was no possible way for me to not bite me!" She sighed and looked straight into Anderson's eyes. "And, I guess I was a bit frustrated that he couldn't see my feelings for him so I decided to make a move and confess. Luckily, he felt the same way as me."

Anderson nodded and took a few steps back from Pyrrha. He mulled over everything she said and couldn't really blame her. _"Well, it looks like Jaune got the Curse of Denseness from his mother's side. At least it was broken. From what the lass said, she probably didn't have any normal interaction with human nor Faunus, so it's highly probable that she was socially awkward so she couldn't have expressed her feelings properly. Then there's_ that incident _that gave way for the non-aggression pact. I guess I can't fault her for biting Jaune, but that doesn't really sit well since I have to be the one to explain it to his mother and father."_

The priest faced Pyrrha yet again and asked her one final thing. "Alright, just one final thing and I'll let ya off the hook." The redhead nodded in agreement, prompting Anderson to ask whatever he wanted to ask.

"Who shall ever shed man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. For in the image of God made He man. What chapter is that verse from?"

Pyrrha immediately answered. "That's from Boondock Saints, one of Jaune's favorite movies. And that verse is his favorite."

Anderson nodded. "Aye. You got it all in one. But please, for the love of God, if you two ever decide to, ya know, use protection. I don't want any red-haired Arcs running around just yet."

Pyrrha's mind went off to her own world at the thought of her and Jaune's babies. Anderson gestured to Yang to release Ruby's ears and to take the blindfold off of her.

Not just a moment later, the door swung open, Jaune walking in as Alucard trailed behind him. Before anyone could ask, he answered what they were thinking.

"Get your minds out of the gutter. I was just forcing him off of his armor so I could get a better look on his body structure. And also because I'm surprised that he hasn't been harmed by it."

"Um, what do you mean Mr. Nikos?"

Alucard chuckled and just patted Jaune by the head. "Please, you might as well call me father." Making Jaune and Pyrrha blush brightly. He crossed his arms and explains. "What I meant is that armor of yours is blessed, by the Catholic Church, no less. Normally, we vampires are usually harmed by holy objects. But I've become immune to it, while Pyrrha can tank some hits but its possible that she can die from one. Normally, newly made fledglings are very susceptible to holy items yet you don't seem to be affected by such."

This brought a shock to Anderson. He brought up one of his bayonets and neared it to Jaune's face, only to find he wasn't harmed. He pulled it back and could only conclude to one thing.

"The Lord still accepts ya. He still sees ya as a part of his kingdom. You are still blessed by Him. That's why you're not being harmed by your armor."

Alucard placed a hand over his chin, a smirk on his face. "A vampire blessed by Oum himself? Ha! What a fun day this is." He looked at Jaune and asked him to hand over his weapon, making Anderson suspicious. "A mere sword will no longer fit him, Anderson. You have nothing to worry about, I'm merely asking Walter to...upgrade his weapon. To fit a vampire of his caliber."

Anderson seemed to accept this and just nodded. The priest blinked, hearing something the others didn't. He excused himself out to take care of it.

Alucard faced Pyrrha and asked, "By the way, you're all in a two-week break because of the Breach, correct?"

"Yes, father."

Alucard nodded. "Good. Because your team is coming with me for the break. I'll be teaching them just how a real fuck-mothering vampire can fight."

Ruby pointed at the vampire and shouted at him accusingly. "Language!"

Alucard rolled his eyes at the fifteen-year old girl. Before he could say something, his ringtone started blaring.

" **O Party Party Party** **.** **I wanna have a Party** **.** **I need to have a Party** **.** **You better have a Party** **.** **O Party Par-** **"**

Alucard took out his scroll, taking a look on who was calling him and saw that it was important. "Hold on, I need to take this." The vampire phased out to answer it.

Minutes later, the two teams heard a shout of "WHAT?!" from both Anderson and Alucard. The two of them burst through the door, with an angry look on their faces. They faced each other with a knowing look.

"Did ya get the same call as well?"

"Yes, I did. There's a sudden ghoul uprising just by the outskirts of Mistral and we need to contain it before it fully implodes." Alucard faces the team and orders them to suit up. "The eight of you are coming with us. It's high time we show you youngsters how actual professionals hunt down demons of the night."

RWBY and JNPR nodded, serious looks on their faces. The former team ran to their rooms, grabbing their weapons, while JNPR was already ready. The two nodded and led them out of school, heading towards Mistral.

Good thing it was Friday.

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

Everything was pitch black, nothing could be seen in this desolate room. All except for the silhouette of a man. But even then his silhouette is barely visible, the only thing visible of him is his face, his grin, his gleaming glasses and blond hair.

The man's grin seemed to widen, as various monitors lit up in front of him. But even then, his figure wasn't completely seen. Looking at the feed, his grin turned to excitement as he clasped his gloved hands.

"The Dead...will dance. And all of Hell shall sing! Oh it's the sequel that I've always waited for. It's coming soon~" The male's shoulder started to shake, a chuckle escaping his lips. A second later, the chuckle turned into full-blown laughter, echoing throughout the entire building.


	3. Murdering My Valentine

**I know, I know. It** **'s been weeks since the last update, but due to unfortunate events, I couldn't complete. Right now, I'm at my uncle's house, finishing up this chapter. So, I thank you for being patient. Also,**

 **WARNING: The following chapters contains some pretty graphic scenes, along with a fuck-ton of swearing. Viewer discretion is advised~**

 **Read and review!**

* * *

There was nothing. Not even a speck of noise decorated the inside of the Bullhead, besides the engines. Alucard, Anderson, JNPR and RWBY all sat down quietly, minding their own business as they awaited to arrive in Mistral.

RWBY was huddled over in a corner, gossiping about the revelation that Pyrrha, out of all people, was a vampire. And technical royalty. Oh, and the fact she and Jaune are now a couple. Or as certain childhood friends would say, "together-together".

Jaune and Pyrrha were leaning against each other, their hands on top of one another, smiling contently. Ren and Nora looked at their teammates with masked jealousy, obviously wanting to be in the same position as them.

Oh, if only they had the the backbone to tell each other how they felt.

In the background, Alucard leaned against the wall as he watched them with a knowing look. He couldn't help but let a small smile grace his face as he was reminded of the time when he was just courting Aphrodite. He sighed, silently praying that Aphrodite would accept Jaune.

Anderson merely stood straight, hands clasped as he silently muttered a prayer for the safety of everyone present in the Bullhead, except Alucard. He was a fuck-mothering vampire. He doesn't need the protection of Monty.

The priest finished his prayer and walked towards the middle. He looked at Team RWBY and JNPR, outstretching his palm. "All of you, give me your Dust ammunition and your weapons." he stated.

Naturally, Weiss was the first to reaction. "What?!" she shrieked out.

Anderson sighed and looked at Weiss irritably. "Are you really questioning me you crazy Protestant bastard?"

Weiss took offense to that. Not to the Protestant comment, but the bastard one. "I'm a WOMAN!" Just because she has a petite figure and A cups does not mean she's a male!

The priest scoffed and looked at her mockingly. "Call yourself whatever you want you crazy Protestant bastard." At this point, Anderson didn't even care anymore if he was swearing in the presence of a child. Because if she's old enough to kill, she's mature enough to hear curse words. He realized that.

Alucard then placed in his two cents, adjusting his sunglasses. "I'll have to agree with Anderson here. You're flat as a board, even that fifteen year old has more curves than you do. For all we know, you could be just a guy with a cross-dressing fetish."

Weiss looked red and was about to shout out dozens of profanity until Nora, of all people, stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head negatively. Anderson chuckled and decided to explain why.

"The enemy you'll be facing aren't the typical monsters you've faced. Yes, your weapons can kill them, but it won't rest their souls. A blessed weapon is an advantage you should get if the opportunity presents itself."

Alucard pushed himself off the wall and walked towards his rival. "You don't need to bless my daughter's. Her ammunition is made out of Macadenoian silver, laced with Fire Dust. It's already been blessed, so there's no point in including her."

Anderson looked at the vampire and nodded. "I'll take your word for it."

Everyone, besides Pyrrha and Jaune, the latter having no need for Dust since his only weapon was his sword, and it was already blessed.

Anderson took out his Bible, chanting out a verse from the book, as he dabbed every ounce of ammunition and weapons with Holy Water. Alucard shook his head and went towards the controls.

The crimson-clad vampire approached the pilot, his hands inside his pockets. The pilot had reddish-brown hair and green eye, since his left eye was covered by a patch. He had a long braid, resting against his shoulder. He had a slouch hat on and what appears to be the outfit for a mercenary for hire. And that he was sporting a bandage on the bridge of his nose.

Alucard didn't bother looking at the pilot, instead staring at the clouds they passed through. Alucard crossed his arms as he spoke to the pilot. "What's our ETA until we've reached the outskirts of Zephyr?"

The pilot rubbed his nose, a little smirk on his face. "Well monsieur, with the speed we are going at right now, we'll reach Zephyr in under 30 minutes."

Alucard nodded, right before smacking the pilot right up his head. "What was that for?!" the pilot shouted out in surprise.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Bernadotte? Call me Father." said Alucard. He smirked mischievously. "After all, Seras is technically of my blood ever since she's turned from the light of day. And you've been dating her for how long? Two or four years?"

This caused Bernadotte to sputter, right before nodding, a blush on his face. "Uh, oui...papa." Bernadotte said lamely. It's weird calling Dracula, father. "We've been dating ever since I've offered my blood to her. Technically we're already married because of that little transaction, but I can't say to be sure. Oh, and please, call me Pip. Bernadotte was my grandfather."

Alucard chuckled and looked into the mercenary's eye. "Very well then. But do remember that Seras is now a Draculina. Treat her high and proper. And I don't want any funny business until the both of you actually tie the knot. Understood?"

"Oui, papa."

The vampire smirked and walked back to the others, were everyone is loading their newly blessed ammunition into their respective weapons. Alucard walked towards his daughter and her servant, making the both of them slightly nervous.

"Um, is there something you need, father?"

"Yes, my princess, there is." Alucard discarded his hat and sunglasses, looking at the two with a slight smirk. "Jaune's transformation is not finished if he has yet to drink virgin blood." He leaned in forward, looking at them with an interrogating and amused look. "Well, has he?"

Pyrrha blushed, refusing to meet with the eyes of her father. Nonetheless, she nodded her head. "Y-Yes, father. Jaune has drank some of my blood."

Alucard leaned back, standing straight. "I see." He simply said. The Vampire King looked at everyone, a calm yet serious expression on his face. "All of you, be ready. Remember, what you're about to fight are not Grimm. Don't hold back if you wish to see the sun rise again."

Team RWBY and JNPR nodded, determination coursing through their faces. Anderson chuckled and twirled his bayonet, patiently waiting for them to arrive at their destination.

Several minutes later, though the intercom, Pip's voice blared. "Alright everyone, we've reached the outskirts of Zephyr. Get ready."

Alucard opened the door, the strong wind current blowing against him, making his trench coat flap in an epic manner. He looked down, seeing the quiet town just below. "Alright, we're here. Get ready to drop down."

This brought confusion to everybody. Blake raised a finger and an eyebrow. "Uh, shouldn't we have parachutes?" asked Blake.

Alucard and Anderson looked at each other, before they started laughing. RWBY and NR looked at each other worriedly while Pyrrha and Jaune sighed, having an idea as to why their respective relatives were laughing like mad men. Anderson patted Blake and Yang's shoulders, a grin on his face.

"Parachutes are for bloody wimps. Landing strategies for days!"

With that proclamation, the two rivals jumped out of the Bullhead with a shout of excitement. Pyrrha and Jaune looked at each other and sighed. Hands intertwined, they both charged out and fell into the sky.

Nora giggled. She wrapped her hand over Ren and carried him bridal style, making him slightly panic and blush at the proximity of their touch.

"Let's go Renny!" shouted out the exubarent hammer wielder.

"Nora wait!"

Whatever he wanted to say, he wasn't able to say it as she jumped off. The shouts of Ren telling Nora to put him down could be heard. RWBY deadpanned and sighed at being left alone in the Bullhead.

* * *

 **In the Sky**

A grin plastered its way towards the faces of Alucard and Anderson as they fell towards their destination. They didn't really care that much for their health, considering they can heal anything that gets broken.

Jaune and Pyrrha slowly reached the level of descent of their respective relative, the both of them still still holding hands.

How lewd.

Nora came into view, still giggling as she held Ren tightly, giving his ass a few nice, firm gropes. Because I mean, come on, it was right there. How could she not? Ren could only blush at the action, silently wishing for her to just keep on going.

Finally, Team RWBY arrived, assuming a free fall position. Slowly but surely, all ten of them neared the ground.

Ruby and Blake whipped out their weapons, shooting below them to slow their descent.

Yang would've usually done the exact opposite of what Blake and Ruby were doing, but she opted to just gonna play it safe.

Weiss pushed her arm forward, casting a Glyph below her to act as a staircase.

Nora being Nora, did absolutely nothing to even land. She just flipped herself to a standing position as she giggled and grinned. Ren only sighed as they plummeted to the ground.

Alucard and Anderson essentially dive bombed down. A split second before they reached the ground, they back flipped and landed in a kneeling position. Luckily, they didn't cause a crater and instead landed quite gently.

Pyrrha and Jaune were next. The mistress and servant let go of each other. They grabbed their shields and placed it below them. As they neared the ground, they kicked their respective shields, allowing them to flip themselves and land softly.

Weiss jumped down from her final Glyph, landing gracefully. The rest of her teammates fell down and dropped onto their knees.

And Nora? Well, she just fell straight on the ground, causing a small tremor, looking fine and uninjured. She was actually still grinning and carrying Ren. The zen master looked straight into his childhood friend's eyes and sighed.

"Nora, please don't do that again." said Ren with both pleading and concern in his tone.

The sloth lover looked into his eyes and smiled. "Sure!"

 _"How the blood-soaked Protestant hell did that girl survive a fall that high?! Even with Aura, that should be impossible!"_ thought the priest.

 _"How curious. This girl is still human yet possesses unimaginable durability. Interesting."_ mused Alucard.

Shaking themselves out of their thoughts, the two faced their destination. It was a creepy-looking, in the standard of a ten year old, three-story building. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, besides the grass around them looking...dirtied and black.

Alucard knelt down and took a piece of dirt. He sniffed at what he scooped before throwing it down. The vampire stood up and faced his greatest adversary. "Ghouls are in here, there's no doubt about it. The ground's seeping with blood and blight. It's obvious that a vampire is the cause of this."

He faced the others and looked at them with a serious expression. "Are you all ready to see what an actual monster looks like?"

Seeing everyone nod, the two powerhouses walked up to the door. With a grin, the two slammed their foots on the door, unhinging it off the hinges. Alucard and Anderson walked in, with the two teams following suit. They gripped their weapons tightly, looking around with a nervous glint in their eyes.

Anderson stopped for a moment, allowing the two teams to pass him, before he started walking again. He would act as the rear guard, just in case anything comes from behind.

Pyrrha was slightly fidgety. It has been a long time since she hunted down a ghoul. Jaune noticed his lover's distress and placed his hand in hers. Pyrrha felt his touch, making her slightly more calm. The redhead gave him a smile, which he promptly returned.

Blake's bow started to twitch, making her blink as she heard the sounds of pained groaning. She took a slight sniff and the scent of blood came rushing through her nostrils. The Belladonna stiffened, causing everyone to pause.

"What is it, Blake?" asked Yang.

The Faunus shook her head, regaining her bearings. "I smell blood and… I can hear a lot of people. They're all groaning in pain." she said.

Alucard smirked, whipping out his guns. "Then they're near-by." He faced the weapon of the Iscariot Organization. "It would be better if we split this group apart. Sweep this area in a much faster rate."

"I concur." agreed Anderson. "I'll take the blondie, the hammer wielder, the Protestant bastard," Earning him a shout of indignation from Weiss. "and the Faunus. You take the rest."

Blake blinked, realizing something. "Wait, how did you know that I'm a F-"

"As if it wasn't obvious. That bow of yours looks exactly like cat ears, and it kept twitching. Besides, you gave it away when you said you smelled blood. It's common knowledge that Faunus have better senses than humans."

Blake sighed. "Knew I should've went with the beret." mumbled the smut lover.

Alucard nodded, motioning for his daughter, Jaune, Ren and Ruby to follow him to the basement, while Anderson and his group went to scour the first floor.

Anderson and his group continued to venture further in the first floor, the priest right behind the girls, still acting as the rear guard. They've reached a four-way hall. Blake's ears started twitching, making her involuntarily flinch as she heard the countless sounds of groaning.

"They're really close. The groans are getting louder." noted the Belladonna.

Just as she said this, the door ten feet away from them was smashed to pieces. Dozens of people with decaying skin, blood splotches all over their bodies, torn clothing, glowing eyes and bloodied teeth all piled out from the room, slowly approaching the five.

The four girls looked really crept out at the appearance of the ghouls, shivers going down their spines. Anderson grinned, before he raised an eyebrow, hearing groaning from behind them as well. He spun around, seeing a mob of ghouls trudging towards them. But, to their even bigger surprise, more ghouls started coming from the other two directions.

Anderson smirked, twirling around his bayonets with joy. "I haven't had a time to kill these rotten bastards in a long time." Anderson looked at the four lassies, who were still staring at the slowly approaching ghouls. "Remember, they had no choice in becoming ghouls. There is no way to change them back. Killing them swiftly is the only mercy we can give them. Either aim for the heart or the head!"

Anderson roared and charged at the ghouls coming at his direction. The priest swung around his trusty bayonets decapitating the ghouls as he ran. One ghoul ran towards him, about to claw the scarred blond. Anderson stopped in his tracks and took a step back, before slicing off the ghoul's arms. He then stabbed his blades right onto the ghoul's shoulders, burning the unfortunate soul.

More bayonets popped into both of his hands as he chucked them at the horde, the blades shining brightly with holy light, and the handles covered with holy runes. The bayonets impaled through exactly seventeen ghouls, their bodies burning from Oum's holy presence.

The priest smirked, relishing this moment. He hadn't gotten a good hunt in a while. And he planned to enjoy this. Walking up to a ghoul, he clocked him straight in the head, decapitating its head and pushed it towards the head of ghoul the force of the impact great enough for it be pushed off and into another ghoul's head, which provided the same results. The same process repeated until all the heads smacked into a wall, rolling around with blood dripping out from their necks.

Yang cocked Ember Celica and charged at one of the ghouls. She threw a punch to the undead creature's face and it blew up like a melon. The ghouls stopped to stare dumbly at their comrade's headless, well, corpse. The blonde roared and threw a couple of more punches, sending out kinetic blasts that obliterated the heads of the undead.

The blonde did a low sweep on one of the ghouls, right before smacking its head down, completely smashing the limb to a bloody paste. The blonde elbowed another in the stomach, right before uppercutting it into the air.

Nora jumped over Yang and slammed the ghoul right back down, squashing its entire upper body, blood splattering the floor. The ginger quickly got up and started swinging Magnhild around, either dismembering their heads off or their entire upper body. A ghoul pounced on the ginger, making her growl as she threw it off and whacked it's head repeatedly with her hammer until it was nothing but bloody mush.

Looking up ahead, another horde of ghouls approached the two of them. Yang and Nora stepped up, nodding at each other. Nora shifted Magnhild into its grenade launcher form while Yang cocked her gauntlets again. The two wild ones started wildly blasting at the horde, mowing them down quite quickly with the combination of Nora's explosive projectiles and Yang's Fire Dust shots.

The only things left for their side were a couple of limbs sprawled around, blood around them and some ashes.

Blake started shooting the ghouls that passed her, killing them all with a bullet to the head or heart. One of the ghouls decided to follow its comrade's earlier action and pounced Blake. The Belladonna gritted her teeth and pushed the ghoul off. She hacked its throat, blood spewing out vigorously. Normally, one would be shivering at the thought of blood covering their body, but Blake looked surprisingly indifferent to it.

A ghoul attempted to pounce the Faunus, prompting her to duck. She jumped and did a spin kick, pushing the ghoul back. Blake took out Gambol Shroud and stabbed it right in the chest. A grin spread across the ninja lover as she kicked the ghoul and swung around her weapon's ribbon, slamming the undead monster to it's comrades, sweeping them off their feet or smacking them onto the wall.

With a grunt, Blake slammed the ghoul down onto the floor, it's entire body grazed off. She pulled back her weapon and continued shooting at the oncoming horde.

Weiss summoned a Glyph, causing multiple ghouls to slam into it. She quickly dropped it and impaled the ghouls through the heart. The Schnee pulled her rapier back and nimbly dodged a ghoul trying to claw at her. Weiss revolved the Dust chamber on Myrtenaster and set it to Ice. The blade glowing white, she dashed forward and swung it horizontally, sending a wave of ice to wash over the ghouls in front of her, freezing them solid.

Changing the chamber on her weapon yet again, Weiss switched it to fire. A red glow washed over her blade and she swung it, releasing an arc of fire that swept through the frozen ghouls. Slowly, their upper halves slid down as they all melted.

The four females smiled, seeing that no more ghouls were around while Anderson smirked in enjoyment. He enjoyed beating up those ghouls.

Blake's ears started twitching again, hearing the sounds of distinct pained moaning. Her eyes widened as she faced the others, almost suffering from whiplash.

"There still some ghouls left!"

Anderson frowned. "Aye, I thought so. We still haven't eliminated the source of these heathens." The priest looked at Blake and nodded. "Lead us to it."

Blake nodded and started leading them to where the noise was coming from.

* * *

 **With Alucard's group**

Loud gunshots and the sounds of sharp metal hitting flesh filled the entire lower floor. As well as the sounds of dying ghouls.

Alucard had a sadistic grin on his face as he mowed the oncoming ghoul horde in front of him. Holes covered their entire body, the bullets of the Casull and Jackal making quick work of them. Truly, nothing he shoots ever gets back up.

More and more ghouls approached the Vampire King, making him grin. He kept on firing at the dozens of undead, obliterating their heads or their hearts. The chambers slid off, emptied out of bullets. Alucard grabbed some from his coat's pocket and loaded them into the pistol. He cocked them and continued firing.

 _"Seriously. This is like House of the Dead. Only a hundred times much more fun and entertaining!"_ thought Alucard with sadistic glee.

Ruby tried to calm down her growling stomach. Not because of hunger, but because of the feeling of guilt washing over her, making her want to puke. She tried to steel herself for this moment, but even then, it wasn't enough. After all, she was still just a fifteen year old.

Ruby ducked under a ghoul and shot in the head, right before spinning around and swung her scythe to impale a ghoul on the chest. Two ghouls approached her slowly, blood dripping from their mouth. The Rose twirled Crescent Rose and hacked the ghouls, leaving no shred of their existence besides the splattered blood.

The leader of RWBY fell on her knees, panting as she processed that she had just killed ghouls, who were once humans. _"D-does this make me a murderer? These ghouls, t-they used to be people like us."_

As she was distracted, a ghoul ran towards her, intent on killing her. The undead creature pounced, Ruby just now noticing. The ghoul was then shot straight in the head, being sent back headless. Ruby turned around, seeing Alucard with the Jackal's barrel smoking.

"Don't get distracted by such trivial matters, Rose. Every second in the battlefield counts."

From behind the vampire, five ghouls approached him. On instinct, Ruby jumped up and grabbed Crescent Rose. She embedded the blade in the ground and started firing at the ghouls, mowing them down with ease. Once they were dead, a small smile curved on Ruby's lips.

Alucard smirked and nodded approvingly. "Now you get it. You're learning how to properly hunt."

Ren was an agile and nimble fighter. He practically danced around the ghouls as he either decapitated the ghouls with the blades on StormFlower or riddled them with his blessed Wind Dust bullets. The zen master was calm, not letting the ghouls nor the gore bother him one bit. Having already seen enough tragedy and blood during the fall of his home.

The martial artist parried a ghoul's arm and elbowed its chin. Ren grabbed it by the head and flipped himself over to the other side, detaching the head off. Ren threw it up before doing a soccer kick, sending it towards a group of ghouls, knocking them over.

He twirled his guns right before he took aim at the knocked over undead and pulled the trigger, shredding them like meat in a slaughterhouse. Ren pulled away his finger from the trigger, seeing that the ghouls weren't even moving anymore.

Jaune slashed and hacked through the horde in his path, doing his best to not be bothered by the blood or decayed organs splattering around. He was a vampire now. A prowler of the night. Drinker of blood. And servant to the Vampire King and more importantly, his daughter.

He will not let himself get queasy at the mere sight of blood. Jaune raised his shield, dozens of ghouls charging towards him. The Vampire Knight smirked and blocked them with his shield, seeing their skins burn.

Looks like even the shield was blessed.

Raising Crocea Mors, the blade gaining a shiny sheen of bright blue. The blond brought it down, releasing an arc of holy energy that went towards the horde. The energy washed over the undead monsters.

Nothing happened, before a second later, their bodies burnt to a crisp, ashes falling onto the floor. Jaune's smirk never disappeared, as it instead grew bigger, looking at the remains of the ghouls with satisfaction.

This is the first time in many years since Pyrrha had last killed ghouls. If she was honest, it filled her with adrenaline. The kind that makes you feel exhilarated. She blocked ghoul before bashing Akuou to its head, tearing it off.

Pyrrah twirled Milo around and shifted it into its xiphos form. She charged towards the oncoming horde on her side and started slashing her weapon, hacking the monsters with both professionalism and sadistic glee.

She wondered why she even signed up to be a Huntress. This was more fun! Pyrrha's emerald eyes faded back into her vampiric crimson ones. Pyrrha grinned and tossed her shield, using it as a projectile that decapitated a row of ghouls.

The daughter of Dracula used her Semblance to retrieve it back. She twirled Milo around, turning it into its rifle form. Pyrrha took aim and pulled the trigger, shooting a ghoul in the heart. Her grinned widened as she kept on pulling the trigger.

Soon enough, the ghouls in her side where all dead. Pyrrha panted, blood covering her entire body. She brought up her blood-soaked hand to her mouth. The vampiress stared at the crimson liquid right before she licked it off.

It was delectable. Pyrrha grinned wider as she began to lick off the rest of the blood on her body. Jaune stared at this sight and gaped, blushing. He found the sight hot.

Ren and Ruby looked disturbed at the sight of their friend drinking blood. Alucard chuckled, seeing his daughter embrace her roots once again.

"We weren't supposed to meet today. But I suppose an off-schedule encounter can be allowed." said an unknown voice.

Alucard's group turned to face the source of the voice. They saw a male with pale skin, long blonde hair tied with a white ribbon at the end, and green eyes. The man was wearing silver pince-nez glasses and some style off military jacket colored white with gold lining. He's also wearing white suit pants, white gloves, a white suit jacket over his jacket.

The male bowed, looking at the five with a smirk. "Greetings. My name is Luke Valentine." introduced the blond.

Alucard stepped forward, placing away his guns. "Something tells me that you're the cause for these ghouls."

Luke smirked and admitted to it easily. "Indeed I am. You know, Alucard, I'm actually a fan of your work."

This both interested and bored Alucard. "Oh? Is that so? Well, as much as I'm flattered, you'll have to get through my daughter and her friends first."

"Daughter?" asked Luke in surprise. In all honesty, he didn't expect for the great vampire to sire a heiress.

Alucard chuckled as he walked into the darkness, disappearing from view. "I'll be watching from the shadows. Give him everything you've got."

Pyrrha grinned ferociously and brandished her weapons, her friends getting ready. "As you command, my father."

* * *

 **With Anderson and the others**

As the the five of them disposed of the remaining ghouls, a voice made itself known.

"Ah shit! We weren't supposed to be fucking seen yet!"

Anderson's group spun around, seeing a black-skinned man. The man had amber eyes, and dark hair. He wore a dark blue high-collared jacket and dark blue pants, both of which had white trim. He also wore white gloves and a dark blue cap with a white-and-gold eye design on the front. Scattered across the male's face were golden piercings; some in each ear, his nose, his eyebrow, his cheek and two on his lower lip.

The male then gave off a lecherous grin as soon as he got a better look of the group.

"Well well well, what do we have here? A fucking rapist, two thots, a cat bitch and a titless heiress!" The vulgar man shuddered presumably with pleasure. "I am so fucking hard right now."

The four females didn't know if they should feel disgusted or furious at the man's degrading comments. Anderson wasn't affected, having been insulted with far more worse from Alucard.

"So, to what do we owe you for this visit you fucking heathen?"

The male grinned and faked offence. "Now that's not cool." He gave them a mocking grin as he bowed and introduced himself. "The name's Jan Valentine, second half of the Valentine Brothers." He stood straight, still grinning. "We WERE supposed to be killing everyone off in this goddamned building then turn them to motherfucking ghouls, but shit! You just slaughtered them. So, guess who got new orders? I'm gonna fucking kill y'all and then maybe skull fuck your corpses!"

"Haha, yeah no." deadpanned Nora.

Jan grinned and whipped out dual carbine rifles. He cocked both guns and fired. Weiss ran in front of her friends and pushed her hand forward, casting a Glyph to block the gun fire. Jan noticed the Glyph and stopped firing, lowering his guns with a frown.

"Well that's not fair at all."

Weiss quickly switched the Protection Glyph with a Snowflake one, being maintained by Myrtenaster. Yang, Blake and Nora took this opportunity and started firing from their respective weapons.

The vulgar male grinned and started dodging, all the while spouting out the direction he goes to.

"Up! Up!" Jan jumped over some of Yang's Glyph enhanced shots. Before he flipped himself over to the dodge one that shined white. "Down! Down!" He kept on ducking as he dodged all of Blake's gunfire quite easily. "Left! Right! Left! Right!" The dark skinned male kept on spinning around in both directions, dodging all of Nora's attempts on trying to break his legs.

Jan flipped back, laughing cockily. "Hahahahaha! Wow, thank you Konami! You were finally useful for once!"

Anderson roared and jumped over the Glyph, throwing bayonets towards the prematurely celebrating Jan. Jan shouted out various profanities as his forearm was impaled by the blessed blades.

"Oh fuckity fuck ass fucked by a motherfucking bastard shit! That smarts so much!"

A tick mark appeared on Weiss's forehead as soon as Jan finished swearing. "Can you not, you brutish swine!"

Jan flipped her off. "Fuck off you titless bitch!" He spun around and started running.

Blake threw Gambol Shroud, hoping to hook Jan. The obnoxious male front flipped, dodging the weapon and kept on running.

The five of them followed the male, until they lost sight of him as they once more came across the splitting hallways.

"Looks like we'll have to split up." noted Anderson. "I'll keep on moving forward, the four of you form pairs and go to the remaining paths."

The four females nodded. Weiss and Blake paired up and went left. Yang and Nora went right.

* * *

 **Back with Alucard's Group**

Pyrrha, Ruby and Ren stood there ground as they kept shooting at Luke. The artificial vampire grinned as he blurred in blinding speed, swerving around the blessed Dust bullets with ease.

True to his word Alucard merely stood, observing from the shadows. He wouldn't move just yet. He will act during the most opportune moment. For now, it's the children's spotlight.

Jaune could only stand in the sidelines, being ill-equipped against their opponent. He only had Crocea Mors, and nothing else to assist his friends.

Luke bit down an arrogant laugh, still not getting hit nor grazed by the bullets.

 _"Is this really all they have to offer? It's almost boring really. And a bit disappointing."_

Luke blurred away, disappearing from everyone's view. Pyrrha gritted her teeth, raising up Milo as she looked around for any signs of Luke. "Be on your guard. He could be anywhere." she warned to her friends.

An orange light popped up and flew towards Pyrrha. It curved around her shoulders, legs and her neck. The redhead blinked, as Luke reappeared right behind her, holding out a dagger. Pyrrha gasped as she felt herself be dismembered, the limbs falling down in a bloody heap.

"Pyrrha!" shouted out a wide-eyed Ruby.

Ren gasping, completely horrified at the fact that he witnessed someone he cared about die right in front of him. He looked to his leader in concern. Jaune remained motionless, but his eyes told all. They were sunken and void of life. As if his very purpose was stripped away from him. But hidden beneath was something bubbling.

The blond attacker scoffed and laughed arrogantly. "Was that it?! Was that the capability of the Great Alucard's daughter? How absolutely pathe-"

He was quickly cut off by a white blur. Luke's eyes widened by a fraction as Jaune was now right behind him, poised to stab.

"Argh!" Luke gritted his teeth, as he was stabbed in the back, the blade popping out from his chest. The holy inscriptions around the blade became apparent as it glowed brightly. He looked into the Arc's eyes and gasped. They were bloodshot and crazed.

Jaune began to chuckle, creeping out Ruby and Ren. Alucard raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused by the new development. The chuckle then turned into full blown insane laughter, his usually deep blue eyes turning into a crimson blood red.

Jaune pulled out Crocea Mors, allowing Luke to get out but he didn't let Luke off just yet. The white-garbed vampire shouted in pain as Jaune cleaved off his left arm, leaving out a bloody stump.

Luke gritted his teeth as he dashed back and fell to his knees, clutching the wound as sweat began to drip from his forehead. Jaune looked at him with a mad grin, unnerving the injured blond. He walked up to the arm and picked it up, showing it off to Luke.

"Weren't you just boasting about beating us in a flawless match minutes ago? You can still fight, can't you?! You've merely suffered the loss of your left arm! Just grow it back. After all, the fight had just begun."

And with that declaration, Jaune squashed the dismembered limb, reducing it to nothing but blood and fragments of a bone and flesh. Luke quivered at the sight of Jaune, sweat now dripping even heavier. Ruby shivered as she stared at Jaune's eyes.

 _"Those eyes...they remind me when Yang gets very angry. Only a_ _thousand_ _times much more worse."_ thought Ruby.

Jaune noticed Luke's sudden change of attitude and decided to mock him further. "Come on. Get up, get up! You're an adult, someone who already has experience! Why are you quivering like a leaf? Come on, hurry, hurry!"

At this point, Luke managed to recompose himself. He chuckled as he ripped off the remains of his arm, allowing the stump to burn to ash. "Like you're one to talk. You just watched your friend die in quite the gruesome manner. You didn't even do anything, you just stood there. How pathetic." snarked Luke.

The Arc's eyes turned an ever darker shade of red and was about to move, until a hand placed itself on his shoulder. Jaune looked towards the hand's owner, and saw Alucard walking out from the shadows.

"No need to exert anymore effort, Arc. You've done enough. But now, let me show you how a proper vampire hunts a fake." instructed Alucard.

Jaune stared at him for a moments before nodding reluctantly. He stepped back, standing right next to Ren and Ruby.

Luke smirked as Alucard slowly stepped up, his arm regenerating. "You know, your name gets thrown a bit, Alucard. They tell stories of your strength. How you glide through oceans of blood. They call you Night Walker. Beyond Human. A monster whose powers radiate with a darkness that cast a shadow upon darkness itself."

Alucard stood there, not even the slightest amused by Luke's compliments. If anything, it made him bored. Luke didn't seem to notice as he continued his little spiel.

"Finally, I get to know once and for all if there's anything more than rumor. I used to fear you back when I was human, but now, I can't help but admire you: the first great pioneer of immortality. No matter what the rest of us do, we're just chasing your shadow."

A smirk crossed Alucard's lips as he brought up a hand to his face. "You fool, don't be so ridiculous. There is no such thing as an immortal."

Luke grinned at this maniacally. "Oh, I know. And soon, everyone else will as well once I cut off your head and put it in a display case!"

The blond disappeared in a blur. Alucard took out the Casull and slowly aimed at the air. Luke reappeared right in front of Alucard, aiming his own gun at the latter. Coincidentally, the Casull also pointed right on Luke's forehead.

Both of them pulled the trigger, shooting each other. While Luke was sent flying, Alucard managed to stand his ground, albeit he was arched back, his fedora flying off. The two vampires started chuckling as their wounds healed. Luke sat up and began barraging the Vampire King, all the while dodging the return fire.

Alucard stood there, taking the hits as he just kept on shooting at the dodging Luke, his body being littered with holes. Switching up tactics, he took out the Jackal and shot a single bullet.

Luke sidestepped, only for the bullet to complete shatter the wall right behind him, before it kept on going, eventually forming a makeshift hall.

"A pistol...did that? Monty." said Luke in disbelief, his face filled with horror.

Alucard chuckled as his wounds were patched up, standing straight. "Your reflexes are outstanding. I'm impressed."

Luke looked at the healing Alucard cockily and took aim once more. "Don't underestimate me! I have the subtotal of your vampiric powers at my disposal. All of it and more."

Alucard couldn't help but whistle, a bit impressed at the blond's capabilities.

* * *

 **Back to Anderson**

Anderson twirled around his bayonet as he hummed a tune. The priest noticed something on the ground. He ambled towards the object and knelt down, spotting a clothed forearm impaled with bayonets.

Anderson looked forward, seeing a trail of blood. The rival of Alucard chuckled. "Think ya can escape that easily?"

The Catholic traipsed across the halls, bayonets in hand. Soon enough, he spotted Jan leaning against a wall, clutching his stump of an arm, which soon regenerated.

"Fuck! I need to regroup with my brother. The fuck's Saint Guillotine doing here with a couple of Huntresses?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Jan's eyes widened as he jumped and spun around, evading the thrown bayonets. As soon as he landed, Anderson pushed him into a wall, choking him.

"Ah for fuck's sake!"

Anderson grinned and raised a bayonet threateningly. "Alright, now you're gonna tell me what I know."

"Okay okay!" shouted Jan frantically. His lips then curled into a mocking smirk. "You go to a pharmacy, ask for something called Viagra, and it'll help you go fuck yourself!"

This earned him a bayonet straight in the hand, which pinned it to the wall. Anderson grabbed his other hand and pinned it as well. Jan gritted his teeth and thrashed around, struggling to get himself off.

"We're gonna try this again-"

Anderson back dashed, a frozen projectile sailed from the left hall and slammed straight into Jan's crotch, his voice becoming a few octaves higher.

"FUUUUUUUUUCK THAT HURTS SO MUCH!"

Magnhild appeared out of nowhere and slammed straight into his chest, making him lose the air in his body and also cracking his ribs.

"Did I get his legs?!"

The four females appeared from both directions, weapons drawn. Except for Nora, who threw Magnhild at Jan. At this Anderson grinned and looked back at the pinned vampire.

"Now, as I was saying, tell me what I want, or you're gonna be suffering hell on Remnant."

Jan was still defiant. "Fuck you, you pieces of shit! Do your fucking worse!"

Anderson's grin could only become more diabolic at this declaration.

* * *

 **Back to Alucard**

Luke kept on dodging and shooting Alucard, who just remained still as he shot back. It completely baffled the blond why he would just stand still and not even evade his attacks.

 _"He's not even trying to dodge. Does he think he's indestructible? Everything has a breaking point."_ thought Luke.

Alucard grinned as his body was littered with bloodied holes once more and yet it didn't look like he cared that he was grievously injured.

The blond just kept on swerving around and continued his attack. _"He may not act like he's injured, but he's taking far more damage than I am. Just maybe, I can beat him!"_

The bloodied form of Alucard hunched forward, grinning as blood seeped out from his wounds. He chuckled as he stared at Luke, the blood going back into him as his wounds began to close up.

"Tell me, what did you say your name was?"

Luke blinked, sweat dripping from his forehead as he looked at Alucard's face. It was absolutely terrifying. "I-it's Luke. Luke Valentine!"

Alucard stood straight as his injuries healed up. "Luke Valentine. Well, I suppose your powers are beyond even the highest category of vampires." Two illusionary hands materialized in front of Alucard as his form was shrouded over by a shadow, a single red eye shining through the dark. "Release Restraint Level One!"

"Level what?" asked a confused and terrified Luke.

The area around them went dark, before dozens of red colored started opening up around Luke. The blond vampire could only stare at the eyeballs in fear, as he found himself surrounded by it. It was like thousands - no. MILLIONS of souls were looking at him.

 **"Heheheheheh! Well then Luke Valentine, time to show you how a real vampire does battle!"**

More eyes opened up around Alucard's shrouded form as dark matter sprouted out from his body, two shapes of a canine forming, his head and hands falling down with a dead and creepy grin.

Ruby squeaked in fear at the sight. Ren and Jaune, however, looked at the sight in curiosity, burying their fear.

The blond jumped back as the two canines tried to chomp off his limbs. Luke looked down, seeing dozens of creatures creepily crawling up to him. The blond screamed in fear as he turned tail and started running away.

He did NOT want to die today!

An arm from the canine's mouth shot out, holding the Jackal. It didn't even aim and shot off Luke's leg with impressive accuracy. The blond yelped as he started to limp and hop. Another bullet struck him down and was then rendered legless, causing him skid to towards a wall, his legs nothing more but bloody stumps.

Luke sat up as he saw Alucard hover over him. He tried to back away in fear, but failed because of the wall behind him. All of his bravado was now gone without a trace, replaced with pure fear. "What are you? What in the hell are you?!"

 **"Hrahahaha! Come on, get up. Attack me! You've only suffered the loss of your legs!"** As he said that, he grabbed Luke's leg and held it mockingly. **"Summon up your familiars. Transform your body. Heal your severed legs and stand. The evening is still so young."**

Every word he said brought fear straight into Luke's face as he watched his dismembered leg be smashed by Alucard.

 **"Hurry. Hurry. HURRY! Pull yourself together! The fun had just begun. Come on. Hurry!"**

Alucard looked absolutely horrifying, his upper body the only thing visible as he stared down on Luke with a deranged grin, making the blond quiver like a leaf.

"Monster!" shouted out Luke in instinctual fear.

Alucard looked surprised at the statement, and even a bit disappointed, as he ordered the dark matter to move right behind him, forming his lower body. **"So, you finally show what you truly are. You're pathetic! Nothing but a useless snivelling lump of meat!"**

"Shut up! You're nothing but the Hellsing's family toy! A dog for the church of Mistral! Not even fit to call himself a vampire! A-"

 **"Silence!"** interrupted Alucard, which made Luke flinch at the tone and the volume. Nonetheless, Alucard grinned. **"As if you can yourself Nosferatu. If I'm a dog, then you're dog food!"**

Alucard re-materialized the canine and prepared to consume Luke. However, out of nowhere, a Dust bullet shot Luke in the chest, making him gasp in surprise.

A stream of blood ran across the floor, circling around Luke. The crimson liquid rose and formed into a feminine figure. A tendril of blood shot out and started choking Luke. Another tendril formed, holding what seemed to be a spear. The blood then dispersed, revealing a grinning Pyrrha.

"You have done goofed."

Luke looked in disbelief, certainly surprised that Pyrrha had survived. "B-but how!? I sliced you to bits! Tore you limb from limb! How are you still ali-argh!"

Pyrrha's grinned turned sadistic and silenced the crippled blond, shoving the spear into his throat. "Fuck you, that's how." The redhead pulled back her spear, right before impaling it into Luke's heart. She spun around, facing Alucard. "Father, catch!"

Pyrrha then threw Luke's unmoving corpse towards the Vampire King. Alucard grinned and ordered his canines to start scarfing down on Luke's corpse, splattering blood all over the floor.

Surely, Ruby started throwing up her dinner, not being able to handle the sight she was shown. Ren frowned, looking a bit green. Jaune was impassive, more focused at Pyrrha's survival.

Alucard chuckled as his figure completely formed, stepping on Luke's blood, absorbing the crimson liquid into his body. **"Was that really all? Such a shame. It seems we've overestimated you. As a vampire, you were nothing more but a pathetic piece of shit. But now, you're nothing more but dog shit."** Alucard faced his daughter and gave her an approving nod. **"Well done, my princess."**

Before Pyrrha could even say anything, she was entrapped in an embrace by a completely relieved Jaune.

"You're alive." was Jaune's only words.

Pyrrha smiled tenderly and lightly ran her fingers through his blond hair. "It's alright Jaune. I'm a vampire, I won't die easily."

"I… I know that. But even then, it terrified me to see you be hurt like that. I thought I lost you dammit! I thought I failed you, that I wouldn't be able to see you again." said Jaune, choking down a sob.

The redhead said nothing more as she merely smiled and rubbed Jaune's back, letting him cry into her shoulder.

Alucard smirked, his outfit shifting back. The Vampire King crossed his arm as he watched his daughter embrace her servant in a very comforting manner.

 _"Perhaps I've misjudged him. That_ _you are_ _the one for Pyrrha. I just truly hope Aphrodite can overcome herself when they meet."_

* * *

 **Back to Anderson**

Jan panted as the holes on his body closed up. Anderson frowned as he hid away his bayonets. Although it didn't last long as he stepped back, his grin coming back full force.

"Perhaps these girls should take their turns torturing your sorry charcoal arse!"

Jan spat at the priest, giving him a mocking grin. "Take your best fucking shot!"

The four females grinned wildly and sadistically, with Nora raising Magnhild. The ginger slammed the large hammer right onto Jan's legs, breaking the entire bone. Right before smashing it on the other.

"Ah fuck! That smarts so fucking much!"

Weiss went next, holding Myrtenaster up. The pale heiress brought down her rapier and started striking Jan in some of the vital points she knew, making him scream harder.

Blake stepped forward, aiming Gambol Shroud right at Jan's crotch, making the vulgar man panic. The Belladonna grinned and repeatedly pulled the trigger, shooting Jan's dick.

"FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKTITSASSSHITFUCK!" he shouted as his junior was turned to Swiss cheese.

Blake whipped around her weapon, hitting some of the vital points Weiss missed. The cat Faunus ended her turn by stabbing Jan in the stomach.

"W-was that, the best, you fucker, can do?!" mockingly asked a panting Jan.

He quickly lost his bravado as soon as he saw Yang crack get knuckles. He swore her eyes flickered red for a second.

"Let me show you how to make him squeal REAL GOOD!"

And fist met crotch. Jan gasped, his voice becoming nothing more but a squeak. Yang pulled back, before slamming her other fist onto Jan's dick. She pulled back again, right before repeating the process over and over until she decided to activate Ember Celica.

"I was gonna suggest having his dick be peeled like a banana, but I guess that works too." commented Nora.

Half an hour passed. Yang was finished and went to admire her handiwork. The only thing that remained of Jan's crotch was a dripping blood stain, making him whimper.

Anderson walked up to him, his face devoid of any kind of emotion. "So? Are you finally going to talk or do I have to shove a dozen bayonets up your arse again?!"

To their immense surprise, Jan started chuckling, looking at them mockingly.

"Y-You think after all that, I'm gonna fucking spill? Fuck no! My bosses have been listening in on us the entire fucking time!" As he said that, he was lit ablaze with blue flames. "And now I'm on fucking fire! Well, since I'm fucked, how about I piss a little wisdom on you dipshits? You can take this clue and shove it up your asses! Beware...the Millennium!"

Jan's entire body burnt down as his scorched head fell down and turned to ash. While the four females discussed why Jan straight up caught on fire, Anderson frowned as he internally mused at what Jan said.

 _"_ _Millennium…so, those bastards returned, huh?_ _"_ His demeanor then completely flipped as his eyes gleamed brightly. _"This will be the best hunt in years, I can hardly wait!"_

* * *

 **Somewhere in Vale**

Neptune cheerfully whistled to the tune of Beach Lasagna as he strolled down the streets. The blue-haired cool guy had just purchased some last-minute items for the dance.

He grinned brightly and pumped his arms in excitement. He could hardly wait. But he just hoped he didn't have to dance. Maybe hang out, chat and drink with friends, but certainly not dancing.

Thanks to his internal excitement, he never noticed the fact that he took the wrong turn, and had accidentally walked into an alleyway.

Neptune blinked, finally realizing where he was as he bumped into a dead end. He looked around in worry and scratched the back of his head.

"Okay… This is bad. But I have my weapon, so I'm sure I'll be fi-"

As soon as he said that, a shadow lunged at him from behind and restrained him. Neptune grunted in surprise and would've shouted in horror had it not been for the figure covering his mouth.

Neptune did his best to remain calm and keep his cool. But his panic-stricken face and the dubious amount of sweat rolling down his face proved otherwise. Finally, after moments of silence, the figure spoke.

"Worry not, I have no intention of robbing you or hurting you. I merely need some information from you, and then I will release you. You are the twenty-fifth person I will be doing this to, so merely stay calm and let me do what I must."

Neptune's eyes widened as he felt something poke his back, making him panic and fall down to his knees. The unknown placed his two hands on both sides of the blue-haired male's temples, his palms glowing dimly. Neptune's eyes glowed the same color as his eyes slowly widened as the seconds went by.

The sensation he was feeling - it was absolutely baffling yet funny and he couldn't describe it, even if he wanted to. Minutes pass, and the stranger pulled away his hands. Neptune began to sway, feeling slightly woozy. Luckily, he slumped against the wall.

The stranger hummed as he processed the things he copied from Neptune - his memories. But only the important stuff, he had no need for any of his personal information. He only wanted to be updated to the modern world.

He gasped as he came across a certain memory of Neptune, which was about a certain white-haired heiress. He nearly doubled over in shock at the woman he saw, his face in pure yet, there was also some hints of hope.

"No… It couldn't possibly, could it? Has Fate finally given me another chance? Did she finally decide that I deserve happiness as well?"

The figure looked down in thought. He made a decision. He opened his eyes, revealing a warm purple color, and looked at the shattered moon.

"I won't hesitate to seize this opportunity. I need to meet her."

He looked down on the unconscious Neptune and placed his palm over his forehead. Once again, his palm glowed dimly. He pulled it back, having done what he needed to do.

"Forgive me, Neptune Vasillias. With your womanizing personality, I am most certain it wouldn't have worked out between you two. But, I am sure the you are destined with will soon come. The best of luck to you."

With that, he walked back into the shadows and faded into obscurity, Neptune beginning to stir.


	4. Univinted House Guests

**First off, let me express my sincerest apologies for not getting this done much sooner. It was long overdue, I know, but I really don** **'t have that much of an excuse. Also, please take note that school's gonna start up for me real soon, so expect less than frequent updates.**

 **And to answer our dear guest, Baron Bolt - Sorry, but no. The Captain will most certainly not have any relations to Jaune or the Arcs. I** **'ve already planned our dear Captain's face. You'll just have to to be patient and wait.**

 **And that** **'s everything that should be brought to your attention. Read and review!**

* * *

Integra looked at Alucard, her face filled with irritation, displeasure and anger. Alucard merely stared back at his master, RWBY and JNPR right behind him. Integra glared at her subordinate and scowled.

"What...did you do?" hissed out Integra.

Alucard closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. "Alright. But you can't get mad at me."

"WHAT...DID YOU DO?!" she hissed out again, only this time, with a bit more force and anger.

The Vampire King opened his eyes, staring at his master. "Well first, as you ordered, we went to the outskirts of Zephyr to eliminate the source of the ghouls. We killed them, got some intel about who sent them, brought back two teams from Beacon. Oh, and we bought some Big Macs too.

Integra slammed her hand down on the desk, now clearly pissed off. "That's not what I meant! What I mean is that you brought a fucking Arc, a Catholic nonetheless, here, in Hellsing grounds!"

Jaune piped up. "Well, I'm not really discriminatory against other religions. You could be Islamic, a Pastafarian, Muslim or even a Protestant and I still wouldn't care. We all live in a Grimm-infested world, why add to the hate?"

Alucard smiled and nodded approvingly, before answering the leader of Hellsing. "He's a vampire now, my master. Whether you like it or not, he needs to be trained how to properly become a creature of the night."

Integra growled, massaging her temples to stave off her oncoming headache. The blonde glared at Pyrrha, who had the gall to look sheepish. Integra rested her chin on her hands, still glaring at the redhead.

"And to think, I was about to consider buying you that chocolate cellar you've always dreamed about."

All of the color from Pyrrha's face was slowly drained, her mind processing what her aunt just said. Pyrrha slumped down, eyes widening, her lips quivering as she whimpered. "N-no chocolate cellar?"

"No." simply said Integra.

Tears threatened to fall out from the corners of Pyrrha's eyes. She was about to burst into tears at being denied her precious chocolate-filled room, until Jaune swooped in and pulled the redhead in for a comforting embrace.

"It's alright Pyr. If it would make feel happy, I know a recipe for chocolate fondant."

Pyrrha broke away from the embrace to stare into Jaune's eyes, looking at him with hope-filled eyes. "Chocolate?" she absentmindedly asked.

Jaune nodded, a smile gracing his face. "Yup. I was kind of the family's home cook back at our house. Plus, baking always has been a hobby of mine so I wouldn't mind baking for you guys."

Ren heard this information and rushed to his brother-from-another-mother, shaking him like a mad man. "How could you have withheld such information from me?! We could've traded notes or you could've helped me made some pastries!"

Alucard chuckled and separated the two, clasping the blond's shoulder, a grin on the man's face. "Is that so? Tell me, can you make Beef Bourguignon?"

The blond nodded again. "That should be easy. Beef Bourguignon is a dish I always make back at our place."

"Oh really?" said Alucard rhetorically. The Vampire King looked at Pyrrha and smirked. "You've chosen wisely, my daughter."

"F-Father!"

Integra cleared her throat, still quite pissed off. "Alright, let's say I let you go through with letting the boy train here, answer me this - Why can't Seras be the one to train him?!"

Alucard strummed his chin. "Well..."

* * *

 **In a Valean Beach**

Seras growled and crossed her arms under her already large breasts, emphasizing the large mammary glands more. The blonde wore a yellow one-piece skin tight bathing suit. It was so tight, that her nipples were poking through the tight fabric, which attracted her some unwanted attention.

Which was the reason why she was unhappy right now. She glared at the three people who stupidly tried to hit on her when she just wanted some peace, quiet and a bit of tanning. One of them was a tanned body builder who was flexing his muscles like an idiot. The second was the life guard, flashing her a charismatic smirk that didn't work on her. The last was, quite ironically, a bat Faunus who was giving her bedroom eyes.

"For the last time, no! I already have someone I'm committed to. So take you flirting and shove it somewhere else!"

The body builder stopped flexing and grinned. "Ah come on. Don't be like that. That boyfriend of yours must be some big douche if he's not here. While here we are, wanting to keep you company. So, whaddya say you come with us for a fun time?"

Seras's eyes twitched, a tick mark appearing on her forehead. The blonde flicked the body builder by the forehead, sending him flying twenty feet away from her. The life guard and the Faunus, along with some other spectators, gasped and gaped like fish out of water.

Seras grumbled and walked away with a huff. "Fucking blokes don't know when to quit. Really wished master let me bring Pip here with me."

* * *

 **Back in Mistral**

"...pretty sure she's on vacation." said Alucard.

Integra growled out loudly and massaged the bridge of her nose. Walter then walked in as if looking for something. The butler spotted Alucard and smiled. "Ah, there you Alucard. I'm surprised you aren't in your room yet. Adventure Time is currently streaming on Netflix."

RWBY and JNR blinked as Alucard ran out by phasing through the wall, clearly in a hurry. Integra sighed at her subordinate's antics and faced her niece. "Pyrrha, be a dear and show them around."

Pyrrha nodded dutifully. She motioned for her friends and exited the room, RWBY and JNR following suit. Walter looked at Integra and bowed.

"If you would excuse me, Master Integra. I need to modify Mr. Arc's weapon."

Interga nodded, allowing Walter to exit. The blonde slumped back and massaged the bridge of her nose yet again. "Good God, I dearly hope nothing bad ever happens today."

The leader of Hellsing blinked, realizing what she just said. Inetgra groaned and face palmed. "Why did I just fucking jink it?! FUU-" Interga stopped herself and quickly took out her Scroll, sending Walter, Pyrrha and Alucard a heads up. Once she's done, she dropped her Scroll onto her desk and massaged her temples. "Fuck all kinds of ducks."

* * *

 **Alucard's Room**

The Vampire King rushed into his room through the wall. He stopped in his tracks, the scent of candles filling his nose. He took a look around, seeing rose petals scattered across the floor and trailing towards the large queen-sized bed. Alucard quirked an eyebrow, before an angelic voice made itself known.

"You've been making me wait, my Count~"

Alucard's lips curled into a grin. There sat on his bed was his wife, Aphrodite Nikos, who was wearing nothing. Not even a bra nor her panties. Although, her parts were covered by crimson liquid, presumably blood. Aphrodite, in an essence, looked exactly just like her daughter, but more curvaceous and mature-looking. The Night Crawler chuckled as he strolled to his beautiful other.

"Isn't this quite the delightful surprise? I wasn't aware that the modelling agency allowed you to go home early, my Countess."

Aphrodite gave him a sultry smile as she placed her soft hands on his pale cheeks. "Yes, I was quite lucky that they canceled it on the last second. But now, none of that matters. Ravage me as much you want, master~"

As Alucard was about to shed himself of his clothing, Aphrodite told him of something great. "I've been wanting to tell you something. I thought over it, and decided to get you an early Christmas present."

The pale man's eyes widened in both shock and joy, his lips curling into a smile. "You mean-!"

"I stole an SR-71 Blackbird just for you."

The redheaded MILF squealed in delight as she grabbed by the waist and twirled around by a joyful Alucard. "I knew there was a reason why I made you mine! You always give me the best things!" Alucard threw his wife into bed, opting to unmaterialize his clothes instead. "Now then, let me reward you for those efforts."

Husband and wife stared at one another's eyes, before drawing in their lips together for a passionate kiss. If one were to listen in from the outside, all they would hear were the sounds of loud moaning and the bed rocking.

* * *

 **Iscariot Headquarters**

Two people were walking across the halls, one male and the other a female. The male was tall and slender, wearing a white and purple garb, paired with white gloves. He had long, silvery-white hair styled in a ponytail and had eyes that appear violet in color. If it wasn't for the fact that his skin was fair, he would've been mistaken as an albino.

The female was wearing the standard Catholic nun's outfit, which consists of black habit, a hooded cowl, a white scarf, white gloves and white stockings held with a garter belt and black loots. Seeping through her cowl was black hair, her eyes colored dark brown.

The female looked at her companion and asked him a question. "Hey, Maxwell, do you have any idea why Father Anderson called for us in the Archives?"

Maxwell shrugged, facing the female. "Well Yumie, from what he said, it something about digging up a buried past."

Yumie nodded as they continued to head towards the Archives to help out the man who essentially paved the very foundation of their lives. You see, the two of them, along with another, were taken care of by Anderson himself when they were children. They owed their life to the Paladin and are forever indebted to them.

As they strolled through the halls, a third figure joined them. It was an ambiguous female that had neck-length, blonde hair and gray-ish green eyes behind round-framed glasses. Although female, she wore a uniform almost akin to what Anderson wears.

Maxwell noticed her and chuckled. "Heinkel, never thought I'd see you out of the orphanage." he commented.

Heinkel shrugged her shoulders. "Well, Father Anderson called for me as well, something regarding about my little brother.

"Speaking of family, how are Uncle Argent and Auntie Rose? I haven't seen them in quite a while." said Yumie.

The blond scratched her cheek and smiled. "Well, mum and dad are doing fine. Though, mum is still a bit frazzled that Jaune went to Beacon."

Maxwell slightly frowned at that. "I'm a bit worried for Jaune. He lacks everything a Huntsman needs, besides willpower and a strong desire to protect someone. Which I can understand, given your parents'...overprotective tendencies since he's the only boy out of the eight siblings."

Yumie nodded. "Yeah. I'm actually wondering what was going through his head when he decided to become a Huntsman. Actually, I'm surprised he managed to last this long."

"Give him a bit of credit, Yumie." commented Heinkel. "Jaune's a quick learner, and a natural born survivor. He'll be fine, as long as someone helps him and he doesn't let his hero complex get to his head."

A couple of minutes later, the trio arrived at the Archives' entrance, which was nothing really extravagant. It was a reinforced metal door, only accessible with a keycode and DNA scanner. Maxwell went ahead and inputted the code, right before placing down his hand on the scanner. It glowed blue and ran through the male's palm. It then beeped its completion and opened the door.

 **"A** **CCESS GRANTED - WELCOME, BISHOP MAXWELL.** **"**

The male nodded as he, Heinkel and Yumei walked in. The Archives is what one would naturally suspect. A room filled with thousands of documents, files and items from the past. Right in the middle was a desk, where Anderson sat at, skimming through the folder he was holding.

The Paladin of Iscariot didn't bother looking up from the document as he told the three to come closer. Anderson placed down the file he was reading to look at the children he was took care of.

"Finally, my Axis of Righteousness finally arrives."

Maxwell's nose scrunched up at the priest's nickname at them. "Please, Father Anderson. Don't call us that."

"I'll call ya whatever suits my taste, Maxwell. You should've been used to that by now." said Anderson in a slightly snarky tone. "Now, as for why I called for you here, I need help in looking for some information regarding one word: Millennium."

Almost immediately, Maxwell narrowed his eyes at the word. "Millennium, isn't that the name of the organization that was under the thumb of the fascists who started the Great War? And that said organization's goal was on the search for immortality?"

Anderson nodded. "The very one and same. From what I've gathered, Millennium is back. Or perhaps it might be some radical who's using the same name. Either way, if they have men who can turn people into ghouls, who were probably already deflowered, then they're dangerous. We need all the information we can get and give it to Hellsing."

The three took a couple of seconds to process what Anderson had just said. "WHAT?!"

 _"There's the part I was waiting for."_ sarcastically thought Anderson.

"But why, Father Anderson?" asked Heinkel. "Why should we give those heathens our information? Even if we do have a non-aggression pact with them, it still doesn't make any sense."

Anderson looked at the blond and told her the reason. How Alucard eliminated the source of the ghouls with him, along with two teams from Beacon Academy. Anderson quickly found himself being shaken by Heinkel, who grew hysterical once Beacon was mentioned.

"Who were the teams that you brought to Mistral?! Was Jaune in one of them?! Please, tell me Father Anderson!"

Anderson grew annoyed at his former student and lightly shoved her off of him. He adjusted his glasses and looked at her. "Alright alright! No need to get so hysterical, Heinkel. Yes, Jaune was with me. You should be proud to know that he's the leader of his own team and that he's been doing great at Beacon."

Heinkel smiled at the status of her little brother. It was nice to hear to that he's doing fine. "So, where is he? Is he back in Beacon?" Heinkel noticed the priest's hand tense slightly, bringing back her hysteria. "Where is he? Where's my little brother at?!"

The Paladin of Luna sighed and told her where Jaune is currently at. "Mistral, more specifically, at Hellsing Manor."

This brought on a look of shock from Yumei, a look of surprise from Maxwell, and a look of horror from Heinkel.

"What? But why, Father Anderson?" asked Yumie. "Why did you leave Jaune leave with those, those, heathens?!"

Anderson sighed, bracing himself for their reactions. _"This is it. Time to face to face the bloody music."_ The bespectacled Paladin looked at the three of them. "Because, Jaune is now a vampire."

Yumie gasped in shock, her eyes wide as plates. Maxwell looked very surprised, an emotion of conflict present on his face. Although Heinkel's was the most drastic. The blond's eyes were wide in horror, her mouth wide open still in shock.

Maxwell managed to recompose himself and stared at his father figure. "How? How was anyone able to convert Jaune into a vampire? Isn't the Arc's armor completely blessed? Not one unholy being should have been able to bite him, let alone come near him! And yet you say he's now vampire. Which begs the question, who bit him?"

Anderson opted to remain silent and not reveal that Alucard's wife, nor his daughter, was a bloody vampire. He respected him enough to keep it a secret. The Paladin of Iscariot looked at the frozen Heinkel and asked her if she's alright. When he received no response, he quirked an eyebrow.

"Heinkel, you okay there?"

The blond remained frozen, her mouth still wide open. Maxwell walked up to his friend and slowly pressed his finger on her cheek, eliciting no response from the stunned female. The almost albino sighed and looked at his father-figure.

"She's in shock. We might have to put her in the medical bay." The Bishop looked at the nun and snapped her out of it. "Yumie! We need a stretched to carry Heinkel out."

The nun blinked and nodded. She spun around and ran out of the Archives. Seeing Heinkel in frozen shock brought Anderson a migraine, one he desperately did not want to have.

 _"Good Lord_ _. I_ _f THAT'S how she's gonna act, I dread how Argent and Rose are gonna react. Bloody hell. Can this day get ANY worse?"_

It can.

Yumie came back running, looking quite panic-stricken. "Father Anderson! A small segment from Section IV Shawcross have gone renegade and ransacked the 'Don't Fuck with This' Armory!"

Anderson and Maxwell stared at Yumie in disbelief, while Heinkel finally snapped out of her stupor. The Rival of Dracula clenched his fist and uttered one word. "What?"

"They stole two Bullheads, four dozen weapons, over a hundred worth of ammunition. And, a-and-"

"Spit it out, Yumie! What else did they steal?!" the bespectacled priest demanded.

Yumie flinched at Anderon's tone and meekly said it. "T-The Spear of Destiny."

"No." was all Anderson could say. What else could he say? He was in disbelief, that the very weapon that pierced Monty Oum's body, was in the hands of some renegades. Anderson growled and faced Maxwell. "Enrico!"

The male shot up, a look of seriousness on his face. "Yes, Father Anderson?"

The Judas Priest narrowed his eyes as he started to walk out. "Follow me, we're going to be hunting some deserters." Anderson looked at Yumie and Heinkel and pointed at the documents. "You two, see if you can find anything else about Millennium."

The Axis of Righteousness nodded with absolute, with Maxwell following Anderson out of the room. Yumie and Heinkel picked up a few documents and started to skim through them. Anderson looked furious as he traipsed across the halls. A single bayonet slid into his hand, clenching it very tightly.

The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.

* * *

 **Back to Hellsing**

"And here we have our Training Area."

Pyrrha smiled, as she showed her friends around the very room she always trained in. The training area's design was quite average. The walls were painted crimson, a few motivational posters pasted on.

The room had four test dummies lineup next to each other, targets painted all over its body. In the far back were some exercise equipment, such as dumb bells, weight straps, bench presses and squat racks. At the left were training weapons, such as a wooden spear, a gun filled with BB pellets and a bokken.

Pyrrha's smile turned nostalgic, remembering the times her father and her mother trained her into using Milo and Akuou. The redhead was snapped out of her reverie by Nora, who ecstatically wanted to move on to the next room after looking around the Training Area swiftly.

The Vampire Princess obliged and they moved out to the next room. Pyrrha smiled and gestured to the door. "And this is-" Pyrrha cut herself off, looking confused. "Actually, I don't think I know what room this is. Before I left, there never was a room next to the Training Area."

Nora beamed brightly as she took hold of the door knob. and twisted it open "Ooh! Maybe it's a room filled with treasure! Or maybe it's like an indoor swimming pool!"

Unable to contain her excitement, Nora pushed the door open. The Valkyrie peered in and let out a shrill of excitement. "Oh my god! It's heaven!" Nora quickly barged in, leaving her friends in the dust.

RWBY and JPR looked at each other confusedly and looked into the room. The room was basically an indoor forest, but that was not what was peculiar about the room. No. What was peculiar about it were the dozens of sloths hanging on the trees.

Everyone blinked in surprise to see that the room was essentially a Sloth Sanctuary. Nora was doing her job and admiring each one. Pyrrha placed her fingers on her chin, trying to make sense of this. Her eyes shot open and she snapped her fingers.

"Oh, right. Mother loves sloth just as much as Nora does. I almost forgot about that little detail."

Nora zoomed towards Pyrrha, eyes in the Sloth Lover's eyes. "Your mom is the best woman to ever exist!" Before Pyrrha had time to react, Nora dashed back to admire the sloths.

Weiss then decided to ask an important question. "Why DOES Nora love sloths so much?"

Ren opened his mouth up to answer, only to close it and instead scratch the back of his head in confusion. "That's...actually a good question. I don't know the reason myself." He shrugged. "We'll figure it out some-"

Ren was cut off as the ground suddenly quaked. Everyone stumbled from where they stood. Some of the sloths managed to clung onto the trees, while others were not so lucky. Nora saw the sloths about to fall of and quickly took action to catch them. The Valkyrie used her body as a landing pad, two sloths landing softly on her stomach, another landing on her head. Nora giggled and cheered in victory.

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, her vampiric senses going off as she felt the presence of three dozen men, besides her family and friends, right inside the manor. The redhead growled and unconsciously clenched her hand in anger.

"Someone DARES to try and attack my home?!"

Ruby then decided to ask, "Why would ANYONE even try to attack your home? It doesn't really make any sense!"

Pyrrha didn't answer her and opted to reach for her weapon instead, only to feel the air. At first, the redhead looked confused, until realization dawned upon her. "Oh no."

* * *

 _ **Earlier that Day**_

 _Walter bowed and greeted the two teams. The butler stood straight and gestured to the cart."If the seven of you would so kindly put your weapons into here so i can upgrade them. Yes, being blessed is great and all, but it doesn't hurt to modify your weapons so you can easily combat the ghouls, and lessen your effort in fighting the Grimm."_

 _Pyrrha smiled and placed in her weapon, despite being told not to. The redhead faced her friends and explained. "There's no need to mistrust him, guys. Walter created my weapons, you can trust your weapons in his hands. Trust me, it'll be all worth it."_

 _RWBY and NR looked at each other, silently contemplating. Jaune looked at his sword for a moment, before placing it in. The rest saw this and decided to follow, placing in their weapons carefully in the cart. Ruby was the last one to place her weapon in, giving it a tearful goodbye. Walter bowed again and took hold of the cart._

 _"Estimated time of completion is possibly within two days. Although, Miss Pyrrha, Milo and Akuou just need a bit tuning up, nothing major."_

"We don't have our weapons!" exclaimed Pyrrha. "Not all of us can exactly fight hand-to-hand."

Yang nodded in agreement. "Yeah. There's you, Ren, maybe Nora, and me. Besides, we don't exactly know what we're up against."

The Vampire Princess lowered her head and glared heatedly at the ground. She hated feeling useless, she hated not being able to do anything. The redhead felt a comforting feeling on her shoulder and looked up to see Jaune flashing her a smile. Pyrrha could practically feel Jaune's concern radiate, which was something she rather enjoyed. Pyrrha placed her hand on top of his and smiled back.

Pyrrha perked up, hearing her Scroll ring. She took it out and looked at the message she received. The others looked over her shoulder, curious as to what message she received. It was both cryptic and confusing.

"Go to the security room and bring along your friends for a little show."

* * *

The scene flashed to Integra, who grounded her teeth in annoyance and anger. "Of all the times I decided to lend my men to Lionheart just to exterminate a few Grimm nests." Integra whipped out her Scroll and quickly dialed Walter. Once he picked up, she opened her mouth to issue an order, but he immediately cut her off.

"No need to worry, Master Integra. I'm approaching our mansion's first level as we speak. I highly suggest that you arm yourself for your protection." said the butler.

Integra nodded and asked Walter if he called Alucard to inform him of the situation.

"Yes, I did. Unfortunately, he's currently…busy with Lady Aphrodite."

For a second, Integra didn't understood what the aged fighter meant but quickly realized the context behind the statement. "Oh." she simply said. "Have you contacted Pyrrha?"

"Already sent her a message. Although, with their weapons with me, I won't be having any sort of back up, which isn't quite necessary. Master, I highly employ you, sit back and relax. Watch as I do exactly what the butler does, and tidy up." And with that, Walter ended the call.

Integra smirked and picked out one of her cigars, quickly lighting it up. Hellsing's leader took a puff and pressed a button on the screen in her desk, which lit up and accessed the security cameras scattered across the halls.

"I get to see the Angel of Death rise up from retirement on a front row seat? How delightful." she sighed, exhaling the puff of smoke.

* * *

 **Hellsing's Foyer**

The renegade Catholics trudged through the halls, a smirk on their faces. They had a total of fifty men, not counting their leader. The entrance had no sorts of guards, which allowed them to get in without any sort of worry. All of them wore white and gold versions of the uniform that Anderson wore, with a golden cross necklace hanging from their necks.

The leader, as evidenced by the golden sash around his shoulders, who had chestnut brown hair and black eyes, held a long spear, the mid-section of it colored golden with a small cross right in the middle.

It was the Spear of Destiny, also known as the Holy Spear or the Spear of Longinus. This spear was the very weapon that pierced Oum's body during His death. The blade of the spear was coated with His blood, making the spear a weapon of Holiness.

"Heh. Hellsing Headquarters, the supposed top-notch monster exterminator of Mistral." The leader scoffed. "Protestants fuck everything up. There wasn't even a single guard at the gates. What kind of security is that?" He shook his head as he grinned ecstatically. "It doesn't matter! We'll kill that Integra bitch, take Alucard's head and everyone else in this damned building. Screw Anderson!"

One of the renegades looked at the leader and addressed him. "Um, excuse me, Father Niwatori?"

Niwatori looked at his fellow priest, whom had Caucasian skin, dark red hair and dull blue eyes. The leader nodded at him. "Yes, what is it, Samston?"

"What exactly are we? We're not exactly Catholics anymore since we've broken away from Iscariot and the Pope."

Niwatori let out an evil chuckle. He swung around the Spear of Destiny and looked at his reflection through it. "We are God's true divine will. Not that prat Maxwell, not the Pope and certainly not Anderson! If they were truly apart of God's divine will, why had they not yet attacked this place and killed all of the heathens? Instead, they set up a truce with these Protestant fuckbuckets."

Samston smirked and cocked his guns. "So, that's why we have the spear - To kill Alucard and take his head."

"Indeed! Not only that, it deserves to be in the hands of true Catholics! We still serve our Lord and Savior -Monty Oum, but we do it our own way." Niwatori stopped his march and slammed the spear on the ground, gaining everyone's attention. "Listen up! Our objective is simple; kill the leader of Hellsing and behead their pet! Kill anyone else that stands within our way. Godspeed, men. May the Lord be with you!"

"And with your-"

Exactly half of the renegades were bisected by wires so thin, it wasn't tracked by any of them. The halves of the bisected men fell down and started gushing out a shower of blood, which coated their surviving men. The others unlocked the safety pin of their guns and circled around Niwatori, who growled in annoyance.

"Oh dear, it seems I missed quite a few. I guess I'm not as spry as I used to be."

Niwatori clenched his teeth and gripped the Spear tighter, looking around and barked. "Who dares try to kill the servants of God?! Show yourself, coward!'

The wires glowed, allowing the survivors to see it clearly. It spun around and retracted into the gloved hands. From the shadow, Walter walked out. The butler had a menacing smirk as he adjusted his gloves.

"Greetings gentlemen. My name is Walter C Dornez. Ex-vampire hunter and butler to the Hellsing Family. I answer the door, I clean up the estate and I take out the thrash. And I also take out self-entitled little twats such as yourselves."

Niwatori jabbed the spear forward, pointing it right at Walter. "Open fire!"

The renegades started unloading their bullets straight at the aged butler. Walter's smirk never disappeared as he ran towards the rogue Catholics, swerving through the bullets with a mixture of nimbleness and agility. Walter re-summoned his wires, slicing through a couple of the renegades.

Walter wasn't done and quickly started flicking his hand through all directions, forcing the wires to follow it, and in turn, slice through anything its way. About fifteen men, including Niwatori, were left. The renegades gritted their teeth and didn't stop firing.

Walter chuckled lightly and moved his wires around him, slicing the bullets before it could even reach him. He looked at the fifteen renegades and gave them a creepy grin. "Night night." And he flicked his arm to the right, dismembering every renegade from limb to limb. All except Niwatori, who survived because of the miscalculated distance on Walter's part.

Niwatori gritted his teeth. The priest twirled the spear around and took hold of it with both hands, pointing it at the aged-butler. "You are a demon-devil conceived by the bleakest of wounds!"

The so-called insult made Walter laugh. "That is both hilarious and ironic, seeing as my former moniker was 'The Angel of Death'. It pleases me."

"Angels are the helpers of God! You are no angel!" declared Niwatori. The man slipped into a stance and glared at Walter. "Face me, cretin. For I shall rid the world of the filth and reclaim kingdom of Mistral in the name of the Catholics!"

The butler snorted and surrounded himself with his wires. "How frightening. You have a spear with some of Monty Oum's blood on it. If Alucard wasn't too busy shagging his wife, he probably would've said something like, 'Oh, you got a spear with some Savior juice on it~'. But alas, we're not going to find out, are we?"

Niwatori roared and charged at Walter. The renegade priest delivered a few thrusts towards the butler, whom swiftly dodged. The aged butler entangled the spear with his wires and pulled it down just as it was about to stab him in the face. Niwatori struggled and tried to wrest back the spear.

Walter noticed his struggle and released his hold on the spear, making Niwatori stumble like an idiot. The butler charged straight and flying kicked the brunette on the stomach, making the renegade gasp for air. Walter flipped over him and kicked the back of his head, spinning him around. Walter brought out his wires and embedded it through the priest's limbs. Not enough to cut, but to deeply pierce.

"Now, I highly suggest pissing yourself. Followed by of course a prayer to your IMPUDENT god. Oum knows you're a pathetic little shit. " said Walter, who was grinning.

The renegade priest spat at the butler and glared at him defiantly. "Fuck you, bastard! May the Lord rain his wrath upon your wrinkly ass and beat you with your own shriveling dick!"

Walter smirked and tugged at the wires, making Niwatori flinch. "Good heavens. Didn't your mother teach you some manners?"

And he pulled back his arms, which in turn, pulled back the wires, dismembering the priest. Walter smirked and retracted his wires. The butler walked up to the limbless priest and held an interrogating look.

"Now then, you're going to tell me exactly who you are, why you attacked this place and what your exact goal is. I'd make it quick if you don't want to-"

Walter cut himself off as the stumps quickly regenerated back its respective limbs. Walter blinked in both shock and surprise, giving Niwatori an opening. The priest shot up and punched the butler straight in the cheek, sending him stumbling.

He picked up the Spear of Destiny and kicked Walter down. The renegade priest twirled it for a second and stabbed straight Walter in the shoulder, making the butler grunt in pain. Niwatori chuckled madly as he further plunged the spear.

"As if I'd tell you my goals. But fine, I'll give you the courtesy. The name's Niwatori Ketsuiki and as I've said, I'm here to cleanse this land of its filth and reclaim it in the name of Catholicism!"

Much to the rouge's confusion, Walter started chuckling. Niwatori took out the spear then hovered it above the butler's neck, as he started to get infuriated by the sound of Walter's laughing.

"Why are you laughing? What's so funny?!"

Walter controlled himself and smirked. "Because I'm starting to see how Alucard feels! Just a little bit anyway. Well then, Father Niwatori, I must say, it's quite ballsy of you to try and kill me with the Spear of Destiny. Pray tell, does it actually work?"

Niwatori frowned from Walter's words. "Of course it does! Let me demonstrate!" shouted Niwatori, whose face contorted into that of a mad one.

The priest pulled back the bloodied spear and prepared to plunge it deep into the butler's gullet. Until a set of bayonets rained from in front and stabbed the renegade in the arms, forcing him to drop the spear. Walter's reflexes kicked in as he rolled out of spear's range, which embedded itself deep in the floor.

Niwatori gritted his teeth and clutched the bayonets plunged into his arms. As he was about to pull it out, a familiar voice to him echoed through the halls.

"Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and for thy possession, the ends of the earth. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces, like a potters vessel. Be wise now, therefore ye kings. Be admonished ye judges of the earth. Serve the lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, though his wrath be kindled but a little."

All color from Niwatori's face was completely drained as he heard that verse be spoken. Throughout the entire Iscariot Organization, this verse was one of the most feared for one single reason = It was commonly used by Anderson himself whenever he's about to bring upon down his wrath.

The frightened renegade looked around, trying to predict where the the Paladin would attack. Sweat dripped down heavily from Niwatori's forehead, looking around with paranoia. Walter slowly stood up and propped himself against the wall, clutching his wound, trying to not let any blood leak out. He looked around in confusion, not expecting Anderson to come back so soon.

A spear of light shot Niwatori from behind, hitting him straight in the chest. Niwatori screamed in pain and tried to pull it out, only for his hands to burn when he touched it.

"Heh. As the millennials would say, 'got 'em'!"

Niwatori's head shot up in surprise, but couldn't turn his body to face the voice. Walter looked certainly surprise as Maxwell walked out from the shadows, his hand enveloped by the same light that's piercing Niwatori.

"M-Maxwell?!" shouted the renegade priest in surprise.

The almost-albino chuckled mirthfully as he walked up to Niwatori, the spear being pushed further forward. "Indeed! Did you really think Father Anderson would waste his time in hunting you? No. He had more important things to do then kill some idiotic vermin who thinks he can act on his own and call it God's divine will."

Niwatori gritted his teeth, blood leaking out from the corners of his mouth. "Y-you lot don't do anything about Alucard and Hellsing! Instead, you fucking went up and formed a non-aggression pact with these fuc-argh!"

Maxwell's unoccupied hand glowed and materialized another spear, which was then stabbed into the renegade's abdomen.

"I'll be perfectly honest, I hate Hellsing as much as you do, but our organizations have a common goal. Father Anderson has battled Alucard dozens of times, and both of them are equal in power. They respect each other enough to not meddle in one another's business. Anderson is far more powerful and influential than me. What's more, he IS our father. He has raised every soldier in the Iscariot as if they were his own. And YOU spat at his efforts like it was nothing but thrash!"

Maxwell raised his foot and kicked Niwatori in the ass, pushing him out of his spears of light, making him fall on the blood-soaked floor. The wounds on the renegade's chest healed up. He pushed himself up and spotted a nearby pistol. Niwatori picked it up and spun around, shooting at the pink-eyed Bishop.

Maxwell grunted and raised up his hand, a small, round barrier forming at his palm. He moved it around to block the bullets with ease. The Bishop spun around and re-materialized the spears around his arms.

Niwatori panicked and wildly shot at the charging priest. Maxwell sliced through the bullets that neared him like paper and continued on towards the traitor. The renegade whimpered as the gun made a clicking sound, signifying its lack of ammo. Having nothing else, Niwatori threw the gun at Maxwell, who sliced it in half.

The traitor scampered back, fear now coating his face. This wasn't what he dreamed in doing. He dreamed to have successfully kill of Integra and claim Alucard's head as a trophy to assert his dominance. Then he would've stormed the Iscariot Organization's headquarters and recruit those he did not kill.

But this wasn't a dream. This was real life. He knew it himself that he was pathetic. That everything he ever planned in doing would never come into fruition because he wasn't strong enough. He always placed himself on others, expecting them to carry him straight to the top and feed off of them like a parasite.

Niwatori let out the loudest scream he could muster as Maxwell trudged towards him with a blank yet horrifying look. The renegade's back bumped into two soft things, which made him forget his fear for a brief moment. But then his fear returned as he was picked up by the shoulders.

The renegade felt two short yet very sharp things plunge into the nape of his neck. Whatever it was, it made him squeal like a worthless pig. Niwatori could feel his very soul be sucked out from his body, along with his Aura and blood.

Maxwell and Walter stood there, as they saw Aphrodite continued to feast upon Niwatori's blood. Normally the Bishop would've done something by now, but there were two reasons that was stopping him - One; Niwatori was a traitor. And two; Aphrodite completely dwarfs him in comparison of their power.

In a manner of minutes, Niwatori faded out of existence, as his soul was absorbed into whom absorbed him. Aphrodite flipped her hair to the other side and giggled with mirth.

* * *

From her office, Integra smirked and puffed out another smoke. In the security room, RWBY and JNR looked in shock and awe, seeing the process of a vampire sucking out blood for the very first time. Pyrrha felt a swell of pride rise inside, seeing her mother kill the ringleader of invaders.

* * *

Back to the Foyer, Aphrodite blinked and let out her tongue. "Ugh. He tasted like chicken blood."

Maxwell chuckled as his spears of light dissipated. "Perhaps that is why his name literally translates to chicken blood."

Aphrodite narrowed her eyes at the sight of the Bishop. Her warm green eyes turned red, her nails sharpened like claws, her fangs bared against one of the students of Anderson. Even still, Maxwell didn't look unnerved. In fact. he rolled his eyes and raised his hand in a surrendering motion.

"What are you doing here, Catholic?" hissed out Aphrodite as she glared at Maxwell.

"I'm not here to do ANYTHING to Hellsing." The priest motioned towards the littered limbs and corpses around the foyer. "I'm just here to pick up these fools up."

The Countess slipped into a battle stance, growling like a rabid animal. "That's what they ALL say."

Anderson stepped into view, catching Aphrodite's attention. The bespectacled paladin looked at the redhead and nodded. Aphrodite frowned and stood up straight, her eyes and nails going back to normal.

Anderson and Maxwell looked at each other and nodded. The both of them took out a Bible and slammed their hands on the cover. The book opened up by itself, dozens of it pages unattached themselves and flew into the air. The scriptures were blown away and encircled around the corpses and two Catholics. Seconds later, the pages disintegrated and showed nothing but the remaining blood splatters.

Walter walked towards the vampiress and bowed. "Hello, Mrs. Nikos. Fine evening, isn't it?"

The mother of Pyrrha smiled and waved at the aged butler. "It was. Until those bastards interrupted mine and Alucard's little tryst."

At the mention of their...provocative activities earlier, Walter blushed as both Aphrodite's and Alucard's moans would be forever stuck in his head. He could only nod in agreement. "Why yes of course!"

Aphrodite flipped her hair and disappeared in a flurry of bats, leaving Walter to recompose himself and to start tidying up the Foyer.

* * *

 **Within a Desolate Wasteland**

Salem clasped her hands as she watched the video sent to her from Cinder via the Grimm Seer. Her inner circle, Arthur Watts, Tyrian Callows and Hazel Rainart watched the video with various reaction.

Tyrian watched with sadistic glee, chuckling every time a limb got blown up. Arthur grew nervous and nervous as the video progressed. The same could be said with Hazel, normally calm, had a look of fear in his eyes.

"Well, at least Cinder had a semblance of a brain to send us this." stated Arthur.

Tyrian cackled madly as he watched Alucard barrage Anderson with bullets. "Have to say, they sure know how to fight! Dramatic flair and lots of pain!"

Hazel composed himself and steeled himself to continuing watching. "Who are they?" he asked to no one in general.

Salem lowered her hands and informed her cohorts of the knowledge she knew about the two. "Alucard is the oldest vampire in existence, and is also the most powerful one. He has lived even before the kingdoms of today have been formed. He is also known by many monikers. Such as Vlad Tepes the III, Son of the Dragon, The Impaler, and the most important one of all, Dracula."

The last moniker brought shock and fear through her minions. Arthur was the first to snap out of his stupor and shakily asked his mistress for confirmation. "D-Dracula?! Y-you mean the vampire lord that has killed hundreds, nay, THOUSANDS?!"

The Grimm Queen nodded. "The very one and same."

"Surely you can beat her, mistress?" asked Tyrian.

Much to their shock, she shook her head. "I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to. He is FAR more powerful than I am. Perhaps, there WAS a time when I could've beaten him but that time has passed. " Salem clasped her hands and placed her chin on it. "But that's not even the worst part. Alexander Anderson is practically Alucard's opposite but virtual equal. You've seen how he traded blows with the vampire. He's a devout servant to Monty Oum, giving him a plethora of holy abilities."

Arthur deeply frowned and slowly leaned back into his chair. "Then the both of them are very much a threat to our plans. Forgive me if I insulted you, my mistress, but there is no way to remove them from the equation if they are that powerful."

Salem seemed to be in deep thought. Her eyes lightly shot up and looked through the windows. This prompted the other three to look and their jaws dropped as they saw a whole a fleet of zeppelins coming into view.

"Zeppelins? I didn't think anyone still used that old type of aircraft." Arthur muttered to himself with a mix of curiosity and genuine confusion.

Salem looked at the air ships with wonder and amazement. _"How is this possible? Who are they and how were they able to locate my land?"_

The doors were slammed open, prompting Tyrian to jump out of his seat and draw out his weapons. Arthur and Hazel calmly stood up and walked over to stand next to their mistress if anything were to happen to her.

The intruders were all soldiers. Arthur narrowed his eyes, recognizing the uniforms the soldiers wore. - It was the one used by Mantle when it still existed. The sea of soldiers parted, allowing a man in white to walk. Behind the man were five figures, each looking quite distinctive.

The man was short and plump with blond hair and golden eyes. His hair was oddly styled, with a longer section coming up and then down again in the front left side of his head, like a folded piece of paper. He was dressed impeccably, wearing an expensive white suit with a long matching overcoat, white gloves, glasses, and a black tie with a red gem on it.

Next to him was a tall and lanky man with blond hair. He's dressed in a perpetually bloodstained white lab coat, an unusual shirt which reveals his lower torso, and glasses with an assortment of adjustable, multi-lensed spectacles. He wore four fingered gloves with both his ring finger and pinky forced into the last one.

To the blond's left was a tall man on par with Alucard and Anderson. He had snow white hair, bloody red eyes, and somewhat tanned skin. Unlike his companions, he wore a green overcoat with its neck guard turned up and an officer's cap emblazoned with some sort of symbol. His trousers were a dark shade of green and he wore boots.

After him was a tall and lanky female with glowing blue eyes and freckled cheeks. She had long blue tinted black hair that reached down to her knees, wearing a dark blue-purple suit, a dark pink dress shirt, a green tie, and black shoes. She also wore glasses, white gloves - presumably to protect her hands when firing her musket, which she carried and rested on both her shoulders - and a large silver Swastika pendant.

Came next was an androgynous woman with dark brown skin and short, spiky orange hair. She was very tall and muscular. She had narrow green eyes, with the right eye being much darker in color. The most notable feature on her are the tattoos. They consist of a large pentagram on her forehead, a purple spiral on her right shoulder, and innumerable letters covering the entire right side of her body. Her outfit consists of a dark green halter top, pants and boots. She's also wearing black gloves on both hands, and a silver and dark gray scythe in-hand, resting on her right shoulder.

After her was, surprisingly, a feminine young boy around the age of 14. The boy had spiky straw-colored hair and pink eyes. He wore a yellow dress shirt, black shorts, black knee high socks, a black tie, white gloves and black dress shoes.

The last one was a tall and thin man with green eyes, light silver hair, and a thin brown mustache. He's dressed in a brown suit, vest, and wide-brimmed fedora with a blue tie and white gloves.

Being devoted and insane, Tyrian growled and bared his weapons. "Who dares invade my mistress's land?!"

The short man in white smirked as he saluted, prompting the others to follow. Salem and her associates raised a single eyebrow at the odd way they saluted. Their right arm straightened and inclined upward, with the hand open and palm down. All of the soldiers shouted as one.

"Sieg Heil!"

Of course, this brought confusion to the three men. Salem strummed her chin, as if trying to remember something. Her eyes shot open, understanding what the soldiers had just said. It was in Mantle's old language, meaning 'Hail, my leader!'. Which narrowed down the identities of the people in front of her.

"One of the instigators of the Great War. A battalion rumored to have survived conflicts throughout decades and have achieved a great power: Vampirism. Millennium."

The man in white chuckled with mirth as he smiled at the Mistress of Grimm. "Our reputation proceeds us! Yes, we are in fact, Millennium! The very one and same that started the riot which ignited the Great War! My army and I have heard of you, Salem. We searched high and low to offer our services to you. You see, I am a purveyor of war. No matter what kind. We LIVE for war. We LIVE to cause induction, destruction, no matter the cost!"

Salem unclasped her hand and looked at the man, not convinced. "Go straight to the point. What is it exactly that you want?"

The man grinned. "The death of Alucard." he stated with a grin.

Of course, that was met sounds of disapproval from Arthur and Tyrian. Hazel opted to remain silent, wanting to comment after the man had entirely said what he wanted.

"It may sound crazy, it may sound insane, but I can assure you that it can be done. I know how to beat him. You are the Führer of Grimm, which would mean you'd want him gone to further your plan. I can hazard a guess that involves destroying all kingdoms!"

When the ash-skinned female nodded, the man's grin turned maniacal.

"Then our interests align! So why not work together? I assure you, with our numbers, power and technology, we can surely best every Kingdom within this world. We can make their defenses crumble and their kingdom fall onto its knees." The man offered his man, his glasses gleaming brightly. "We can offer so much! We were bred for war! We were made for destruction! That is our purpose in our life! We can do more than the Grimm! My army is tenacious, horrifying, powerful and adaptable! All I ask, is for war and you may use as you see fit! So, what do you say to an alliance?"

The three men looked at him apprehensively, while Salem seemed to think it over. The witch stood up from where she sat and approached the man. Arthur, Hazel and Tyrian looked at her in shock as she clasped her hand with his. Salem smiled as she shook his hand. "Very well then. We shall work together. You know my name but I do not know yours."

The man chuckled, the gleam in his glasses disappearing, showing his gold yet hostile eyes. "Please, Mein Führer. You may call me Major."


	5. A Darker Shade of Madness

**School has been such a hassle, so, forgive for taking so long to update this story. It wasn** **'t my intention, I swear. *sigh* It also disappoints me that the last chapter only got one review, but I guess I can't be a chooser.**

 **According to Google Translate, Nigrum Mors means Black Death, but WarrenDSherman told me it actually meant Pepper Death, and the actual translation of Black Death hits close to the N-word, so I decided to stick with Nigrum.**

 **EDIT: Alright, I was bit unsatisfied with this chapter and changed up some bits to better fit my standards - like the Captain fight, and the flashback for better consistency.**

 **WARNING: Mentions of rape and depictions of graphic scenes. Viewer discretion is advised.**

 **Read and review!**

* * *

Jaune wandered around the manor, trying to locate the Armory. Pyrrha told him that his weapon's modification was done and that he can pick it up there. However, Pyrrha never showed them around said room, so he was as lost as a dog. The blond noticed a door that he had passed by a couple of time. It was made out of reinforced metal, like a vault door. Plus, the plate by its side read "Hellsing Armory"

Jaune blinked and scratched his head in confusion. "How did I miss this?"

He shrugged and entered. The blond looked around, seeing all types of weapons strapped onto the wall, or placed in glass cabinets, ranging from guns, to swords, to spears, etc. Jaune spotted Walter right in the middle, appearing to be working on something. Jaune walked up to the butler and called out to him.

"Um, Mr. Butler-"

"Walter, Sir Arc. My name is Walter." interjected the butler as he faced the blond.

"Oh, thank you. Mr. Walter." Jaune rubbed the back of his head and resumed. "Um, Pyrrha told me to come here and find you. She said you were done modifying Crocea Mors."

Walter's eyes lit up in realization. He smiled and nodded. "Ah yes. Please, follow me."

The butler of Hellsing walked up to a chest. He opens it up, revealing a custom-made shotgun. The words "Hellsing Combat Shotgun 1006XXX" engraved on the side of the gun.

Walter picked up the weapon and handed it over to Jaune. "Here you are. The Nigrum Mors. This was modeled after the Benelli M4, with a few changes of course. It's entire length is one thousand five mm while the barrel length is five hundred thirty five mm. Instead of the regular shells, it uses Macadenonian silver, laced with Mercury, making the bullets quite explosive. And they're also blessed. It goes farther than fifty five yards so it'll still be effective even if your target is eighty-five yards away."

Jaune preemptively took the gun, examining it. He twirled it around, feeling its weight. The Arc made a few firing poses before smiling.

"This'll be a great boon for me. Thank you, Mr. Walter." Jaune's voice filled with gratitude.

"Of course Sir Arc." The butler's eyes lit up, remembering something. "I've almost forgotten its extra detail. If you would so kindly to hand it over to me for a moment."

Jaune did so and handed over his weapon. Walter gripped it, right before flicking it down. The gun shifted in a swift motion, and it turned into a long sword, resembling Crocea Mors but colored black.

"As you can see, Crocea Mors has been integrated within the gun, repainted and refurbished of course, so you have a melee option. I suggest you head up the training area and practice using your new weapon so you can become accustomed to it."

The blond nodded but remembered something. "Wait, the sheath for Crocea Mors. It doubled as my shield. Where is it?"

Walter smacked his head softly, muttering to himself on how he forgot. The butler excused himself and ran off to another room. He quickly returned, carrying the shield, It's color was now different. Formerly, it was colored white with bits of gold. Now it was colored black with an outline of steel-red and a pattern which resembled Pyrrha's circlet below. Instead of the Arc symbol being by itself, it was intertwined with Pyrrha's insignia.

"Ah yes. Thank you for reminding me. There was not much I could do to modify this shield. It's quite durable as it is. I merely mended the scratches and ruffs around the corners and edges. If you don't mind the color scheme, Ms. Pyrrha and Alucard had it be re-painted as such."

Jaune smiled and accepted back his shield. "No. It's alright. It kinda fits. Plus, I don't think there's been a vampire who has white and gold as their color scheme. We're creatures of the dark, after all."

"Indeed. Now, I presume you know where the Training Room is, correct?"

The blond nodded. "Yeah. I remember. Thanks again, Mr. Walter."

And he left the room, leaving Walter alone. The aged-butler chuckled and took of his spectacles to clean it. He placed it back on and folded his arms behind him. "Ms. Pyrrha must really love him if she wanted to intertwine her insignia with his at such an early stage."

Jaune went up to the second level, where the training room was located. As he approached said room, he saw a certain redhead approaching him. He smiled and waved. "Hey Pyr-Oof!"

Jaune found himself being force choked and slammed against the wall by the redhead, who looked pretty pissed, but was calm at the same time. Jaune struggled and tried to get himself free. That's when he got a good look on the person strangling him.

It wasn't Pyrrha, it was her mother.

"An Arc. So that's why Anderson and Maxwell were here. They snuck you in!"

He blinked at that fact. "U-Uncle Anderson and Cousin Maxwell were here?!"

Aphrodite's eyes widened a bit more as she slammed Jaune into another wall, which also released her grip on him. "So you're directly related to him. Figures he wouldn't honor the non-aggression pact and have you try to kill us." The redhead then gained a look of realization and forced him to look directly in her eyes. "Or is it perhaps you plan to do something to my precious daughter?!"

Jaune groaned and tried to murmur our a reply. Aphrodite growled and lifted him up harshly, her eyes shifting into its blood red color. Black tomoes materialized in her eyes, right before it converged into a three-pronged blade pattern. Jaune being entranced by it. The pattern started to spin, Jaune's eyes following its motion.

"It doesn't matter what your intention is. I WILL protect my little Pyrrha, no matter the cost! She's suffered enough as it is!"

Her eyes pulsed, making Jaune look at it with wide eyes. Jaune's arm went limp, his eyes becoming blank. Aphrodite grunted in satisfaction and was about to drop him down, when Pyrrha walked in. The younger redhead saw her boyfriend being manhandled by her mother.

"Mother, no!"

Aphrodite noticed her daughter and dropped down Jaune. The older redhead smiled warmly at Pyrrha, only to receive a heated glare. She raised an eyebrow, wondering why her daughter was showing her such animosity. "What's wrong, darling?"

Pyrrha looked at Jaune and her eyes widened at the blankness of his eyes. She knelt down and shook him gently, only for it to elicit no response. She grew panicked and shook him again, calling out his name this time. When Pyrrha gained no response, she let out a silent cry before looking back at her mother, tears threatening to fall out of her eyes.

"W-what did you do to him?! What did you to do to my boyfriend?!"

Aphrodite took a step back, shock coursing through her face. "No. No, it's not possible!"

The Countess fainted in disbelief. Pyrrha blinked at this and groaned. Walter walked up the stairs, needing to get some supplies to be able to do maintenance on Milo and Akuou. The butler blinked, seeing Aphrodite sprawled on the floor, with Pyrrha cradling an unconscious Jaune.

"Oh dear. What happened?" he quickly asked.

Pyrrha shook her head. "I-I don't know. Mother was choking Jaune and he turned up like this. And she fainted because I told her Jaune's my boyfriend."

Walter nodded at the information. He snared his arms around Aphrodite's body and carried her in a modified fireman's carry. He looked at Pyrrha and told her to get Jaune into the living room so they can place them down. The youngest Nikos nodded and carried Jaune bridal-style.

Luckily, the living room was just literally below them. Walter walked up to the two-seater couch and placed down Aphrodite there. Pyrrha went towards the four-seater and laid down Jaune's body. She sat down, so she could placed Jaune's head on her lap.

Walter then left, so he can get Alucard and the others. Pyrrha looked at Jaune in worry, wondering what he was experiencing right now.

* * *

 **Inside Jaune's Mind**

Jaune groaned softly as he rose up from his bed. The blond placed his hand on his forehead, lightly massaging it to get rid of the dizziness he felt. "Man, what hit me?"

Jaune blinked as he fully took in where he's currently at. He looked around and saw he was in a teenager's bedroom, as evidenced by the various gaming posters on the wall. Besides the bed he sat on was a nightstand with a Pumpkin Pete's lamp and an X-Ray and Vav comic lying besides it. Right in front of him was a stand with a TV and gaming system below it.

The blond's eyes widened in shock, recognizing where he was. "T-this is my room back at home! But...that's not possible. I was just at Mistral earlier." Jaune had a thought and looked saddened by it. "Was all of that...just a dream?"

The young Arc noticed Nigrum Mors in the far corner, which made a crack a small smile. "Alright, it wasn't a dream. But that doesn't explain how I'm back in Arcadia."

"HELP!"

Jaune bolted off his bed, hearing the shout. He tried to figure out who the voice belong to, before it shouted yet again. This time, it clicked. "Mom?!" The blond grabbed Nigrum Mors and ran out of the house.

The blond rushed towards the voice, approaching the near-by forest. He stopped in his tracks as he saw family being tossed around...by a tentacle monster. Well, technically not a tentacle monster, more human-like figure surrounded by thorny vines. Jaune gasped in horror as the scent of blood reached his nose. He noticed the crimson liquid dripping down around the strange being, coating the grass below it. One of his big sisters, Kitrinos, took notice of her little brother.

"Jaune! Run!"

The Arcs were then thrown into a large tree, their combined force snapping it in half. Jaune rushed towards them, screaming out in concern. He reached them and noticed the blankness in his family's eyes, barring Kitrinos. Jaune went to his surviving big sister and pleaded for her to stay alive. Kitrinos struggled to look up at her little brother and could only utter one word as the life faded out of her eyes.

"R-run!"

Vines swarmed from the monster and to the corpses. Jaune rolled out of the way on instinct, and was most certainly shocked at what happened next. The bodies of his family was somehow lit aflame, cremating them. The monster finally noticed Jaune's presence and turned around. Jaune looked at it in horror as it wasn't a monster. It was-

"Uncle Anderson?!"

Anderson was covered from head to toe in thorny vines, his eyes glazed over and glowing a dark blue. His eyes were like that of a rabid animals, his teeth bared and gritting. Jaune could only look in horror as his uncle slowly walked up to him. Jaune slowly stood up, clutching Nigrum Mors tightly. Jaune turned tail and started running.

* * *

Pyrrha frowned as she gently combed Jaune's hair, getting more worried as the blankness in his eyes turn dark. A groan attracted Pyrrha's attention. She turned around, seeing her mother slowly stay up as she held her head.

"Ooooh. What happened?"

"That's what we would like to know."

Aphrodite and Pyrrha faced the new voice, seeing Alucard, followed closely by Walter, RWBY and NR. The Vampire King walked up to Jaune and looked over him. Noticing the blank eyes, he took out a flashlight and shined it over his eyes. Alucard frowned when it elicited no type of response from the blond. He sighed and put away the flashlight. He faced his wife and quirked an eyebrow.

"What illusion did you put him in?"

The Nikos matriarch refused to look at her husband. This action made Alucard a bit mad and he walked up towards the woman. He grabbed her by the shoulders and both gently and forcibly asked her the question again. "What illusion did you put him?!"

Aphrodite flinched at his tone. It made her obedient and she blurted out the answer. "Iluzii: Temă întunecată!"

Alucard took a step back. Horror coursed through his face as he looked at his wife in shock. "No." he said in denial. "You didn't. You promised me you'd never use it again!"

Pyrrha stood up and glared at her mother. "I can't believe you'd use that vile illusion!"

Ruby raised her hand, asking what it is that Aphrodite said. Alucard sighed and sat right next to Aphrodite. "Iluzii: Temă întunecată means Illusion: Dark Fear. The victim is subjected into an illusion which forces them to go through the darkest fear their body can subconsciously create. The victim cannot break free from it by themselves. An outside force must be the one to do it."

"Then why haven't we done anything yet?" asked Blake.

The No Life King shook his head, saying how it's not easy to break someone out of the illusion. "The only way to break them out of it is to stake their heart."

Nora rushed into the kitchen and returned, holding a bright red steak. Ren shook his head bemusedly at his childhood friend. "He said stake, Nora. Not steak. He means the giant stick that is also a way to kill..." Ren trailed off, realizing something, his eyes widening in horror. "Wait. Are you telling us-"

The eyes of both Blake and Weiss widened as well, reaching the same conclusion as Ren. Their horror increased when Alucard nodded in confirmation.

"Correct. For one to be broken out of the Dark Fear Illusion, they must go through near-death. And staking his heart is the only way."

Yang raised an arm and asked. "But won't that kill him?"

Walter chuckled and explained. "Oh that was just a myth spread by Alucard. Really, it just paralyzes weaker vampires or servants and is only annoying to powerful ones. You could fill Miss Pyrrha's chest with wooden stakes and it wouldn't take her down," The aged butler frowned as he looked at Jaune. "But since Sir Arc is a fledgling, there's the possibility it might force him into a coma."

* * *

 **Back to Jaune**

Jaune kept on running as Anderson's vines knocked down every tree that stood in his way. The blond jumped over a boulder and used it as a stepping stone to launch himself into the air. He took aim and shot at a rather large branch, making it fall down and block Anderson's path. Jaune landed and resumed his run.

The branch did little to hinder Anderson, the Monster Priest already on the Arc's trail.

Heinkel appeared out of nowhere and shot at Anderson. The Monster was forced back, but didn't appear to be wounded. The bespectacled blond faced her little brother and ran up to him. "Get out of here, Jaune! We got this covered!"

RWBY, Ren and Nora jumped out from the trees. Ruby glared at Anderson and cocked her weapon. Anderson roared and launched various vines at the group. Everyone rolled to the side and started firing at the priest. Anderson wasn't affected by the weapons and smacked them away. The monster priest embedded the vines into the ground. The ground started to quake, prompting everyone with weapon recoil to launch themselves into the air.

Ren, however, didn't have that sort of luxury. He was pierced by the vine, straight in the stomach, making him gasp at the immense pain. Nora landed and her eyes widened in horror. "Renny!"

The life in Ren's eyes quickly disappeared, before his body was reduced to nothing but mere ashes. Nora glared at Anderson and charged with a cry of vengeance, tears threatening to fall from the corner of her eyes. She was quickly stopped in her tracks as Anderson impaled various bayonets into her body.

Everyone gasped in horror as Nora's dead body fell down with a thud. Before anyone could make another move the ginger's body was covered from head to toe in vines and it burst into flames as well. Growing even more horrified, the survivors quickly ran away while Anderson was still distracted.

But they didn't get far. Anderson was fast, having blurred right in front of them. Before anyone could react, Anderson launched more vines at them in blinding speed. Heinkel managed to grab Jaune and threw themselves onto the ground, while RWBY was not so lucky. The four of them were ensnared by the the vines and cried in pain at the thorns piercing their skin.

"G-go, run!" cried out Ruby.

"Yeah, there's no saving us!"

Heinkel grabbed Jaune and nodded, running off before Jaune could even protest. The both of them didn't look back as they heard the pained screams of Team RWBY. Jaune couldn't help but let tears fall down as his friends died. Heinkel led him to their old hideout, where they could hide for the time being. "Don't worry, Jaune. We're nearly there."

But it was not to be. Vines erupted in front of the siblings, forcing Heinkel to push Jaune out of the way as she was impaled. Heinkel gurgled out blood as a vine popped out from her mouth. Jaune gaped in horror as he saw Heinkel be torched to cinders.

"No!"

The ashes fell down on the weeping Jaune. Anderson stalked over to his horrified nephew, who tried to crawl away, until he remembered he had Nigrum Mors. Jaune took aim and started shooting at Anderson. The Monster Priest was taken aback by the weapon as he was pushed back a few feet away from his target. Jaune smiled and prepared to take another shot, only for a clicking sound to reach his ears.

He was out of ammo.

Anderson realized this and swarmed Jaune with vines. The blond blocked his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. But it never came. Jaune slowly unblocked his eyes to see what happened. He wished he didn't. Standing over him was Pyrrha, her chest implaed with various vines, all sticking out, The redhead looked at Jaune tearfully and choked out a single word.

"Farewell."

Pyrrha slumped forward and was lit ablaze, turning her body to dust. Her remains scattered into the air. Another precious person lost. Another piece of himself killed with them. Another he had failed to protect. Jaune remained agape, still in disbelief at the rush of deaths.

Anderson shouted in pain as the vines around him retracted back into his body. The priest regained a look of normalcy in his eyes, no longer glazed and rabid. He fell to his knees, realization creeping up his face. The servant of God looked sorrowful as he faced Jaune.

"Jaune, my boy… Kill me. Please, release me from my life so I may be forgiven for the atrocity I've commited. Jaune, please, I'm begging you, kill me!"

Jaune wasn't listening. His mind was still set on the fact that his family, friends, and love have died. And he had done nothing but watch or run. A voice made itself known and spoke to the remaining Arc.

 **"Hehehehehe. You're all alone, all because of that bastard Anderson! Look at him, he's begging for you to kill him. Go on. Do it! Embrace your hate, your rage, the very fire that burns your heart! After all, you literally have nothing to lose. You let everything get taken away from you. So why not go wild and make him pay? Go ahead and make the bastard suffer!"**

Jaune stood up. With a flick of wrist Nigrum Mors shifted into its blade form. Anderson saw this and closed his eyes, waiting for his fate to be sealed. Had he kept his eyes open, he surely would've saw Jaune's calm azure eyes turn into a crazed blood red.

When Anderson heard his nephew rush towards him, he expected a quick death, He was most certainly surprised when he instead received a stab straight in the gut. Anderson opened his eyes and started in shock at Jaune's eye. The blond vampire started chuckling maniacally, which served to make Anderson nervous.

* * *

 **Back to the Real World**

A white shroud began to surge out of Jaune, making his friends panic. Alucard narrowed his eyes at the sight. He walked up to the unmoving blond and went to touch him on the forehead, only for him to quickly retract back his hand as he grunted in shock. Aphrodite ran up to her husband in concern but stopped when Alucard gestured that he was okay. The Vampire King looked at his palm, which was burnt.

"It's much worse than I first thought. Whatever illusion he's seeing, it's making him enter into a bloodrage. From the looks of things, he's beating his fear."

Yang raised an eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips. "Shouldn't that a good thing? I mean, he's kicking the crap out whatever he's seeing. "

Alucard shook his head in response. "No. It actually makes things worse. The shroud around him is corrosive, killing the fear makes it worse. We need to wake him up, now. Or else he'll be forever stuck in his current state, never to wake up."

Walter handed over a rather large stake towards Alucard. It was thicker than an normal arm. RWBY and NR looked at the object with wide eyes. That, is what's gonna be pierced into Jaune's heart. Pyrrha tried not to panic. She usually went along with her father's action, but this is worrying. One; the stake was larger than normal. Two; there's the chance Jaune might not wake up when his heart gets staked.

The Night Cralwer walked up to Jaune and looked at him with no emotion. He sighed and raised up the stake, preparing to embed it deeply into the blond's heart. Alucard narrowed his eyes and plunged the stake into Jaune's heart.

* * *

 **Back into Jaune's mind**

Jaune laughed out like a crazed killer as he slashed at his unmoving uncle repeatedly. Anderson remained agape, taking the hits he received from his nephew. The ground below was already coated with puddles of his blood. Jaune grabbed the priest by the head and slammed him onto the ground. He cracked a grin and dragged him around, before tossing him into a tree.

Anderson slid off the tree and groaned as his wounds closed up. He was immediately met up with a blade to the head, making him grunt. Jaune's grin turned twisted as he curved the blade around, making Anderson grunt in pain. He pulled the blade out and clocked him across the cheek, bringing him down. Jaune placed away Nigrum Mors and stared at his uncle.

"Jaune my boy, please, end it! The Lord has ordered my death, go through with his wishes and take my life!"

Jaune stopped, regaining a bit of his senses. Unfortunately, the voice came back and started persuading him.

 **"Are you really gonna stop? He killed our family, our friends, Pyrrha! Killing him won't be enough. Make the bastard suffer! Dismember him! Rip him in half! Snatch out his heart! Suck every last bit of his blood AND his soul! Come on, hurry! Hurry!** _ **HURRY!"**_

He listened.

The grin returned to Jaune's face as he grabbed Anderson's legs. The blond stomped his foot on the priest's chest and tore them off, throwing the limbs saside. Next, he grabbed him by the neck and slammed him onto the tree. Jaune chuckled and impaled him deeply into the chest with just his hand. tightly gripping his uncle's heart. Jaune pulled back roughly and abruptly, which also caused Anderson to be ripped in half.

Anderson's torso rolled down onto the ground, blood starting to coat below him. Jaune showed his uncle his heart and crushed it into nothing but mush and blood. Anderson gritted his teeth, wondering why his healing factor wasn't working.

Jaune pounced Anderson and grabbed him by the head, whom struggled to pry off his nephew. He laughed insanely and headbutted his uncle. His laughter grew even more deprived and crazed as he lowered his mouth towards Anderson's neck.

 **"That's right. Do it! Kill Anderson and turn him into our familiar! Heheheheheh** **.** **HAHAHAHAHAHA!"**

The fangs in Jaune's teeth grew longer and sharper. He grinned and slowly opened up his mouth to sink his teeth into the priest's neck. However, the rational part of his mind screamed at his body to stop. But it wasn't heard. Jaune chuckled darkly. He snapped his mouth shut and-

* * *

 **Back to the Real World**

Jaune's eyes snapped open and he sat up, screaming out loudly. Jaune grunted, noticing the stake in his heart. He gripped it tightly and ripped it off. Jaune stopped screaming and rubbed his head, try to understand what just happened.

Then he remembered everything. Each and every bit he saw in the illusion. His family dying. His friends being killed. Pyrrha taking a blow for him, which lead to her death. His mercilessly wounding of Anderson and nearly killing him.

Jaune trembled and he screamed in anguish. Pyrrha ran up to him and pulled him in for a comforting embrace He openly wept and reciprocated. Pyrrha tried to soothe Jaune, combing through his hair as she told him that everything was alright. Jaune didn't say anything, and opted to continue sobbing into Pyrrha's chest.

RWBY, NR and Walter could only watch from the sidelines as Pyrrha continued to comfort Jaune. Alucard looked at Aphrodite with a stern gaze and motioned for her to follow. Aphrodite did so. The two of them walked in to an empty room, Alucard closing the door behind him. The Vampire King sighed and glared at his wife.

"What on Remnant possessed you to place the boy in an illusion?! You saw how he looked. He's broken!"

Aphrodite glared back at her husband and defended herself. "I was just making sure we were safe!"

"Anderson is an honorable man. He respects our power, just as we respect him. He's bound to the non-aggression pact through blood. And now that his nephew is Pyrrha's slave, he has even more reasons to not attack us."

The Nikos matriarch threw her hands up into their exasperatedly. "I had no idea the boy was our darling daughter's slave/boyfriend!"

This bit of information brought confusion to Alucard, his anger now gone. "Had you not read her letters?"

Aphrodite's gaze mellowed down, saying how it's hard to have some time to herself since she's always hounded by dozens of modelling offers, which her manager accepts without her approval. Alucard looked at her worriedly. He walked up to her and clasped his wife's cheeks lovingly. "Aprhrodite..."

She started to tear up, as if remembering a dreadful memory. "I...I can't let it happen again, Alu. I can't let our precious baby be, be-!" Aphrodite stopped as she sobbed.

Alucard wrapped her in a hug, his face marred by a deep frown. "I know. I know. You don't have to force yourself to remember such... _incident."_

* * *

 **Years Ago**

 _Alucard and Aprhodite burst through door, rage and concern written all over their places. The Count and Countess gaped in shock, seeing their beloved daughter, stripped bare and bound by rope. She was surrounded by a dozen of Catholic priests...each and everyone pants-less._

 _The rage deep inside them burned like the sun. If it had a voice, it would be crying out for justice to be served._

 _And it shall._

 _Alucard slammed the priests into the wall telekinetically, allowing Aphrodite to swoop in and pick up their daughter. The Casull slid into Alucard's hand, his eyes burning red. Shadows surrounded him, his appearance shifting right into Level One. He didn't even bother with his usual theatrics and flair._

 _"You worthless snivelling lumps of meat! You call yourselves the servants of Monty Oum, yet you commit a grave sin he had forbidden! Fuck each and everyone one of you to the deepest pits of hell!"_

 _Alucard pulled the trigger and started_ _emptying_ _out the ammo_ _clip_ _in his gun. Aphrodite wrapped Pyrrha in her cloak, trying to soothe her baby girl with a comforting hug as the sounds of screaming men filled the background. The young girl sobbed into her mother's chest, whimpering on how the priests were going to "play" with her body. Aphrodite's hands twitched, but composed herself, rubbing the back of Pyrrha's head._

 _"It's alright, my princess. Everything's going to be just fine. Do mama a favor and look into her eyes, alright?"_

 _Pyrrha meekly nodded and did as she told. When she looked up, she was met with a bright flash and she fell limp, losing consciousness. Aphrodite affectionately rubbed Pyrrha's back and kissed her by the forehead, Pyrrha's expression seemingly becoming more comfortable._

 _"Just sleep_ _now_ _, darling. You won't remember a thing."_

 _The sound of clicking attracted Aphrodite. She looked at her husband, no longer firing Casull, having seemingly emptied out its clip. The priests were all on the floor, no longer standing up. Their lower halves were blown apart. Aphrodite walked up to the whimpering messes and glared at them all heatedly._

 _"This is exactly why I loathe to be a Catholic. I'd be associated with rapist scum like you lot! You dared to rape an innocent little girl, for what?! Answer me, dammit!"_

 _Alucard clasped his wife's shoulder, calming her down slightly. The Nikos matriarch's glare never ceased. Her eyes flashed brightly, the pattern of a three-pronged blade appearing. She growled and her eyes pulsed._

 _"Let me introduce you all to my personal hell!"_

 _The priests screamed and their eyes glazed over. In the minds of the priests, they were all in a black and red atmosphere, strapped to a cross. They looked yonder, seeing over a thousand Aphrodites carrying various sharp weapons. The priests struggled against their restraints and screamed as the army of redheads neared them._

 _Alucard sneered as he saw the eyes of the priests slowly dull over. He looked at Pyrrha worriedly and couldn't help but let a frown mar his face. He had almost lost his precious daughter. He should've been looking after her, keeping his eyes on her at all times. He was lucky that the priests haven't done anything to her when they came and that Aphrodite's Semblance can_ _suppress_ _memories. He smiled sadly and brushed Pyrrha's hair._

 _The Vampire King sensed a familiar presence, his anger returning tenfold. He growled almost_ _rabidly_ _and phased through the wall to confront the presence, leaving his wife and_ _daughter_ _alone. Alucard was now outside, watching as Anderson cut down a priest in half and decapitate two in quick_ _succession_ _._

 _Alucard's fury overrode his rational thinking. Rather than approach for a discussion, he wanted blood to be spilled. The Casu_ _l_ _l_ _re-materialized_ _in his hand, now full of ammo. He took aim at the priest and shot him straight in the heart. Anderson gaped and spat out blood. He looked up and saw Alucard._

 _"What the hell, you crazy vampire bastard!"_

 _Alucard_ _growled_ _and continuously shot Anderson, riddling his body with holes. "Your men, Anderson. YOUR MEN ALMOST RAPED MY BELOVED DAUGHTER!"_

 _Anderson's eyes widened at what his rival just said. He shakily stood up, his injuries fading away. "What? You, of all people, have a daughter?!"_

 _The Vampire King glared harder and shouted_ _,_ _"That's not the point! Your men, the so-called servants of God, tried to rape an innocent five-year old girl! This, just further gives me further reason to hate the so-called all-powerful divine being. Give me one good reason. One reason not to go to the Vatican and slaughter each and every Catholic I can see!"_

 _Anderson's eyes widened at the prospect. He shook it away immediately and couldn't help but frown deeply. He looked at the priests he had just killed and couldn't but feel regret that he killed them. Not because what he did was a good thing, but because he didn't torture them first._

 _"Look, calm down you crazy vampire bastard. I had nothing to do with these filth's decisions. They were on their own. Rape_ _disgusts me more than anything else._ _"_ _Anderson took hold of his bayonet and stabbed it into his palm,_ _eliciting_ _a raised eyebrow from Alucard. Anderson took out the bayonet and outstretched his hand. "Let's form a non-aggression pact through a blood oath. I don't meddle in your business, you don't_ _meddle_ _in ours. But if our organizations crosses interest, we'll work together. Agreed?"_

 _Alucard stared at the bloodied palm and nodded. He impaled his palm with his other hand, making it bleed. He clasped hands with Anderson and shook it with reluctance._

 _"This had better not be a trick, Anderson. There will be hell to pay if this is nothing but deception."_

 _The scarred priest nodded. "Then let us have our organization meet up in a_ _neutral_ _setting. There, an official non-aggression pact will be signed."_

* * *

Alucard released his wife from the hug once he heard her stop sniffling. He parted her hair and stared into her emerald eyes. He placed a chaste kiss onto her forehead and gave her a stern gaze. "Just remember, be more careful. Being cautious isn't exactly a bad thing, but don't go overboard. Once the Arc recovers, please apologize to him, alright?"

Aphrodite nodded, making Alucard smile. Both Count and Countess walked away, hand-in-hand.

* * *

 **Grimm Lands**

Salem, accompanied by Arthur, Major and Doktor, stood by the edge of the cliffs, overlooking the arena-like land below. They were about to oversee the ability demonstration of one of Major's subordinates, the Captain, as he called him.

He stood right in the center, unmoving. The wind blew against him as he waited for his opponent to come. Salem smirked and snapped her fingers. Out of nowhere came a Goliath, stampeding towards him. The Captain raised his hand unflinchingly and stopped the Goliath dead in its track. He didn't even move. It was like meeting an unmovable object.

Cracks began to spread throughout the Goliath's mask, earning him a trumpet of pain. The Captain pulled back his hand and uppercut its head off.

Doktor grinned right at Arthur's expression of disbelief. Salem had an eyebrow quirked, her lips seeming to be tugging at the corner. He looked back at his ally, catching the Goliath head, right before throwing it away behind him.

"Ah yes. Even before I've experimented on him, his strength was already beyond a human's or dare I say, even a Paladin, and they have not existed back then! I augmented each and every one of his powers, bypassing its limits to the best of my abilities. Quite frankly, he's our strongest fighter!"

The red-eyed male spun around to see a pack of Beowolves rushing towards him. A silver-Aura washed over him, the left half of his face marred with wolf features that made him look terrifying. The Captain roared loudly at the Werewolf Grimm. The roar stopped the pack and made they all whimpered. The Beowolves turned tail and ran off, making him grunt in satisfaction.

Arthur blinked a couple of times, right before massaging his temples. "I don't event want to know how he did that."

The Captain looked up and saw three Nevermores squawking at him. He growled and jumped on top of one of them. The silver-haired male took hold of the bird's wings and ripped it off, causing it to plummet down. He quickly pounced onto a second one and snapped its neck. He grunted and used the dead Nevermore as a boost to get him to the last one alive. He spun around and kicked off its head with one swing.

With that, he began to fall and quickly assumed a bullet-diving position. In a matter of seconds, he landed and caused a medium-sized tremor.

Salem chuckled and clapped at the display. "Bravo. You've quickly dispatched some of the oldest Grimm within my lands." Her lips curled into a grin and snapped her fingers once more. "But let's see how you handle this."

The black half of the King Taijitu popped out and hissed right at the Captain. He grunted and grabbed the snake by its side. Without any sort of effort, he lifted up the King Taijitu off the ground. Salem blinked in surprise while Arthur gaped in shock. Major and Doktor laughed out loud like mad men at the former two's expressions.

The white half of the snake slithered out from the near-by forest and pounced him. The Captain was forced to release the black half and jumped out of the way to dodge. He focused on the white half and kicked it into the side of the cliff. He ran towards the black half and and clocked it by the face, obviously holding back. He picked it up once more and threw it into the air.

The silver-haired male looked at the white half and pulled it off the cliff face, slamming it on the ground. He walked up to a tree and ripped it off the ground, impaling it into the Snake Grimm, which also served to pin it on the ground. The King Taijitu panicked and flailed, trying to escape. The Captain grunted and looked up, seeing the black half coming into view.

He jumped up and bear hugged the Snake Grimm's head. He slammed the Grimm into its other half, making both explode in a mixture of white and black mush. He stood up and noticed his clothing covered in the remains of the King Taijitu. The Captain sighed and took off his overcoat, revealing his toned body.

Salem chuckled and clapped once more. "Impressive...most impressive." For some reason, her voice was laced with a seductive tone. It doesn't help that her cheeks were dusted with a hint of red.

The Captain's head shot up, his nose wrinkling as the scent of something sweet invaded his nostrils. He looked around, trying to locate where the scent was coming from. It didn't take him long to find out it was coming from Salem, making him blush. The Grimm Queen clasped her hand, her eyes narrowed down, her lips curled to a sultry smirk

"Now then, let's see how you handle an even more powerful Grimm~" She spun around, her hips having a bit of sway in them. "Report to my chambers."

The Captain's blush became, er, darker. But nonetheless, he obeyed. He jumped up the cliff and followed Salem. Arthur groaned and walked off, mumbling on how he needed to get bleach to unhear some of his mistress' words. Doktor looked at Major, his face in a deadpan expression.

"This is, what? The tenth time someone wanted the Captain's D."

Major waved off his close subordinate's concern and placed his hands behind him. "Why so judgemental, Herr Doktor? Our Führer is much more older than we are. It's not our place to say anything about her sex life. Besides, she has needs too."

Doktor scratched his head, thinking about something else. "Ja, I know. But I'm just concerned if the castle can even HANDLE such thing."


	6. Lectures and Training

**Originally, this was supposed to be posted the other week, but due to some certain complications, I wasn** **'t able to do the chapter and postponed it. Sorry for taking so long. I've been busy this past month. And what's worse is that the preliminaries are looming around the corner and I need to study.**

 ***sigh* Sorry guys. Anyway, you know the drill.** **Read and review!**

* * *

Silence loomed over Hellsing Manor. There was not a speck of noise to be heard. Only a day had passed by since Jaune's little illusion experience. RWBY, along with Nora and Ren, stood in the background, watching as Pyrrha continued to comfort Jaune. They were all in Pyrrha's old bedroom and it rather fit her. The color scheme was a mixture of red, gold and black. The decorations were rather simple, yet looked comforting.

Pyrrha softly combed her sobbing servant's hair, whom clutched onto her like a lifeline. It pained Pyrrha to see Jaune so broken. It was not like him at all. The others frowned, feeling helpless. What could they do to help, other than offer their support to the blond.

Nora was about to walk up to the Arkos partner, only to be stopped by Ren. He looked at Nora's eyes and softly shook his head, silently telling her to not interfere. Nora sighed and settled on watching.

Alucard was at the door frame, watching. He couldn't help but feel guilty at Jaune's current state. He should've warned him about Aphrodite, but it never crossed his mind that she would immediately imprison his mind in an illusion. He thought his wife had more tact than him.

Integra looked at her subordinate with a quirked eyebrow. He's had that frown on his face for the past day, his normally threatening red eyes mellowed out. She sighed and stood up from her desk.

"Why are you so worried about the boy? It's only been a day. Give him a few more days, and he'll surely recover."

"You don't understand, Master." spoke Alucard. "Aphrodite's illusions are unlike anything else. If the victim somehow manages to survive the corrosive Aura, it ebbs at their sanity, until there's no sense of right and wrong left. If Jaune didn't become insane, he would've died a painful death. Pyrrha would've been devastated, and that is something I do not want." He looked up, his face marred with a knowing smirk. "Besides, Anderson would kill me if he hears that his great-great-grand-nephew is in a state of devastation."

The Leader of Hellsing crossed her arms, her eyebrow still quirked. "That doesn't exactly answer my question, Alucard. Why can't you just give him a few more days of recovery?"

"Because I need to train him as soon as possible. He is weak, but more powerful than when Seras first became a vampiress. He only has a few more days until they go back to Beacon to participate in the Vytal Festival and I want to help him get better control over his powers. And besides, it might be a good way for him to get his mind off of what happened yesterday."

Integra sighed and slightly glared at the vampire. "Just don't torture him that much. I've seen your training regimens. All of them are gruelling."

Alucard said nothing and opted to flash a grin at his master. He stood straight and phased through the wall. Integra rolled her eyes and picked up another cigar. She placed it in her mouth and lit it.

* * *

RWBY, Ren and Nora moved out from Pyrrha's bedroom and went to the living room. The six of them sat down on the couches, sipping from the tea, or juice in Ruby's and Nora's case, that was served to them by Walter.

Ren put down his cup, revealing his frown. "It really disturbs me to see Jaune so...broken. He's always the hero who smiles confidently and faces danger head on. But-"

"It's unusual to see him so out of character for the first time?" cut in Blake.

Ren nodded in affirmation. The others were silent, content in sipping their liquids. They had nothing to add, so why bother talking?

Walter walked into the room, pushing in the same cart he had them put in their weapons. He clapped his hand, getting everyone's attention. "Alright ladies, gentleman. I've managed to fully modify some of your weapons. The six of you, please line up and get your weapons. I'll explain all of the modifications I've done to it."

The six of them looked at each other and hurriedly stood up. They all went up in a line, based on their height. Nora came first, feeling very much giddy. Walter smiled and handed back Magnhild to its owner. There were some changes to its appearance. It now closely resembled a large war maul, spikes sticking out of its right side. Formerly, it was mostly colored a steel gray with some bits of pink. Now the pink dominated it more. Right on the neck of the maul was a nob.

"I've redesigned your hammer so now it can cause more destruction and mayhem. It no longer launches mere grenades but rockets as well. Additionally, I've integrated some Dust into your hammer. Though, I wasn't quite sure which element to integrate, so I chose-"

"Lightning Dust!"

Nora had turn on the nob, getting shocked by lightning. Instead of feeling pain, she was actually happy. Nora giggled as she felt the sensation course through her entire body. Everyone blinked in surprise at this, Ren rubbing his chin in thought.

 _"Hmmm. Maybe I can use something similar when we move on to bed activities...if we even get there."_

Walter lightly scratched the back of his head. "Oh. It looks like I've made with the right choice. Moving on."

Ruby went next, the feeling of excitement swelling inside her. Walter smiled gently and picked up Crescent Rose, which rested in its Rifle form. Appearance-wise, there seems to be no changes. Except for the obvious laser pointer.

"Here you are. I've calibrated your weapon's range and accuracy shots. I've both widened it and made it more powerful. " Walter pointed at the laser pointer and explained its purpose. "With this laser sight, any shot you make will be guided to a particular target, turning it into a homing projectile, as long as it has been hit by the laser."

Ruby looked ecstatic at the idea of her bullets being able to hit anything with the new laser pointer. She took back her weapon and nodded gratefully at the butler. "Thanks Walter!"

Weiss stepped up. She expected to have a modified Myrtenaster, but from her view, there didn't seem to be any changes. Before she could open her mouth to ask why it is so, Walter quickly cut in.

"I honestly couldn't find a way to modify your weapon. It's perfect as it is. So instead, I've decided to make you a secondary." The butler reached into the cart and picked up a white gold and dark silver dueling pistol, the handle up to the barrel sporting a very intricate design pattern. "A dueling pistol, I thought it'd suit you for long-range. The ammo are quite special. They are highly concentrated type Ice Dust. I'll give it to you later. And do be careful when you use it, as you can only can shoot one round."

Weiss accepted the gun and handled it gently. "Thank you very much, Walter. I guess I'll have to train myself in using a gun." She walked off, allowing Blake to go next.

The Hellsing butler adjusted his spectacles. He carefully grabbed Gambol Shroud and handed it back to Blake. There were no obvious changes to the weapon, besides the black outline it was shrouding. Blake noticed this and quirked an eyebrow.

"Like with Ms. Schnee, there was nothing much I could do to modify your weapon. It's perfect as it is. A blade form, a gun mode and as well as a kusarigama form! Your weapon is one of the most versatile ones I've seen. The only thing I did is polish your blade a bit, re-calibrate some of its gun chambers. Oh, and integrated Gravity Dust into your blade. The resulting effect will create a deflector shield that diverts rounds around the blade so it's made easier to block incoming shots."

Blake twirled her Gambol Shroud around and smiled at the sharp sounds it made on every swing. "Thank you, Walter." She stepped out of the line, allowing Yang to come next.

Walter took out Yang's gauntlets and returned them to the blonde. Like her partner's, there was no changes to the weapon's appearance. Yang took her gauntlets and placed them on to her wrist, listening to Walter's explanation.

"No offense meant, but your weapon lacked versatility. I've given your shot gauntlets a burst range, so you're able to attack more enemies, but you have to keep at a close range, similar to a shotgun. And to add more fire power, I've replaced your normal shells with much more concentrated yet explosive ones."

Yang fist pumped her arms, activating Ember Celica. She took a look inside, and saw the shells to be much more thicker than her old ones and colored purely dark orange. Yang disabled it into its bracelet form and lightly punched the butler by the shoulder, smiling at him. "Thanks!"

Walter merely nodded and rubbed his shoulder. Ren was the last one to receive his weapon. The bespectacled elder reached in to the cart and grabbed StormFlower. It had the most changes. Before modifications, it resembled simple hand guns with blades attached to it. Now however, it resembled an actually SMG. An MP9 to be exact. The blades were still attached by the barrels, still strong and sharp as ever, however, there's a silencer and a flash suppressor attached to it.

"I felt as though your weapons lacked proper fire power, so I took the liberty in fully modifying it to resemble an SMG. Now, it's shots are much more powerful, but also stealthy because of the flash suppressor and silencer I've attached to it. You can still place it in its normal deactivated state."

Ren did just that and slid StormFlower into his wrists. Ren smiled and bowed to the butler. "I am very grateful. Walter." He stood straight, a questioning look on his face. "If you don't mind me asking, how were you able to do all of this in just two days?"

Walter adjusted his glasses and chuckled. Everyone who was looking at him noticed the tip of his fingers flicker a slight surge of ones and zeroes. Those who saw let out a silent gasp, making the butler chuckle.

"Yes. How indeed." he ominously said.

He walked away, leaving everyone to admire their weapons. Blake sheathed Gambol Shroud and turned to the others. "We should go to the training area and get used to our weapon's new modifications."

No one voiced their disagreement The six of them exited the living room and headed for the training room. They noticed the door was slightly ajar. Which meant that someone was already inside. Their curiosity overtaking them, they all took a peek and immediately felt their faces flush at what they saw.

* * *

 **Earlier - With Jaune and Pyrrha**

The tears didn't stop. It continued to flow. The grief and sadness had not yet ceased.

Pyrrha tried to remain cool as she continued on to comfort Jaune, whispering into his ear that everything was just fine. No one died. He wasn't a sadistic psychopath, he was still him. But even her words weren't enough to convince Jaune.

"N-no. You're just saying that to make me feel good. I...I went to a dark place, Pyr. And I liked it! W-what kind of a hero does that?!"

Pyrrha had no response. She opted to tighten her embrace over her servant. This time, tears had started falling out from her eyes as well. She couldn't keep it in. She had to let it out as well.

"Am I interrupting a moment?"

Jaune and Pyrrha did not cease their tears but had separated. The couple watched as Alucard phased into the room, void of his usually present fedora and sunglasses. He looked at Jaune's current state and sighed.

"Look, Jaune, I know what you're feeling right now. I've experienced it first-hand - Losing everything I've ever loved and cherished, then burying myself into the pleasure of killing those who stole everything from me."

He received no response, making him slightly frown. Alucard then continued.

"What happened to you was uncalled for. There are things that can be explained, but are chosen no to. And unfortunately, Aphrodite's action is one of them. But you shouldn't let yourself be overtaken by the horrors you saw in that illusion!"

Jaune sniffed and stopped crying, his eyes red. "What did you do? Y-you said you experienced what I went through. W-what did you do to cope?"

Alucard closed his eyes and crossed his arms. He re-opened his eyes and narrowed it. "I willed myself to become stronger than what I was. I promised myself, that no longer will anyone be able to take what is mine. That my enemies would crumble before my very sight. Don't worry about Aphrodite. I've set her straight. The two of you will get along now, trust me."

Seeing Jaune hesitate, Alucard knew he only had one option left.

"Follow me."

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other. As much as they want to not follow him, his voice had the tone that screams "do it or else". They stood up from Pyrrha's bed and followed Alucard. He led them to the training room, which brought them confusion. For some odd reason, Alucard stopped right in the middle. The Nikos patriarch looked up and spoke.

"Training Area - Access Code: K0NN1H5."

For Jaune, it confused him further, but for Pyrrha, it brought her slight fear. The entire room disappeared in a flash of black, right before being replaced by an open-space arena, a dozen of deactivated robots, which strangely recognized AK-200s, all lined up. Alucard spun around, looking at his daughter and her servant with a smirk.

"Now then, let's begin."

"B-begin what exactly?" tentatively asked Jaune.

Alucard smirked and said nothing. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The color purple lit up on the body of the robots. They looked up and spoke in a loud and monotone voice.

 **"TARGET SELECTION: REQUIRED"**

Alucard chuckled evilly and pointed at Jaune. "Target the boy. Combat Variation: LK-4D4!"

The purple on the robots was switched with yellow. All of them stood straight and stared at Jaune. **"TARGET SIGHTED. SAFETIES DISABLED. COMBAT MODE ENGAGED."** The robots went of to a running start, heading for Jaune.

Jaune let out a started yelp and pushed Pyrrha away. Jaune jumped and dodged the robots' punches. He swerved around their attacks before accidentally running into one of the robot's fist, sending him a couple of inches away.

Pyrrha recovered and was about to assist Jaune, when Alucard entangled her in rope. Alucard pulled her right to his side and tied her up… BDSM style. Pyrrha immediately recognized it and blushed brightly. "F-Father!"

Alucard shrugged and settled her down. "Sorry, little one. This is the only way I know how to tie rope. Through BDSM knots. Besides, I'm very sure this is much more effective than the other methods."

Jaune grunted as he was sent back and forth by the robots through punches by the cheek. They gave him no breathing room, no mercy, no quarter. He was lucky his Aura was active, or else his face would be filled with bruises. The robots stopped their assault, their chest cavities opening up. Yellow spheres dropped out and Jaune's first instinct was to jump. However, he didn't anticipate to jump fifteen feet into the air.

The spheres exploded, revealed to be bombs, which blew away the robots. Jaune landed, still in shock at the height he had jumped. Alucard noticed his expression and smirked.

"Lesson Number One: Biology. We vampires have superhuman abilities, such as superhuman strength, speed, agility and reaction time. It's normal for us to be able to jump that high. In fact, that was still on a low scale."

Jaune blinked and nodded at the information. The robots stood up and refocused on their target. All of them launched bombs at the distracted blond, surrounding him with explosives. Jaune didn't have time to react and was launched into the air. One of the robots launched itself into the air, thrusters in its feet. It grabbed Jaune by the face and slammed him back down onto the ground.

Jaune groaned and pushed himself off the floor. A robot approached him and slammed its foot on to his back, making the blond growl in pain. Alucard watched at the display with a dissatisfied frown and sighed.

"Is that it? Such a shame that I overestimated your abilities. You did well against the vampire back in Zephyr, but this display is very disappointing, Arc! Might as well kill you know and find my daughter another servant!"

This changed something in Jaune. Like a switch was flipped inside of him.

His azure eyes shifted into a blood red and he howled loudly, letting out a powerful aura that sent the robot on him away. Jaune stood up and headbutted one of the robots, smashing its head. He turned and saw three out of the remaining eleven coming at him, their right hands replaced with saw blades. Jaune rushed at them and smashed their chests, killing them easily.

Before Jaune could move out to destroy his next victim, one of the robots launched an energy net, which caught him by surprise and disabled him of any sort of movement. Jaune growled and struggled to get out, still letting Alucard's words affect him. He couldn't possibly let Pyrrha down now of all times. But the net was ebbing at his Aura and it didn't allow him any sort of movement.

"Hmph. You're restricted of any sort of movement, your Aura is slowly decreasing. What can you do in this situation? Time for the next lesson: powers. We have multitudes of abilities, one of them being able to shapeshift."

Jaune blinked. His form is overcome by dark matter and, strangely, he changed into Pyrrha. A blonde version of her. Her cheeks warmed hotly, in disbelief that Jaune had just turned into a palette-swap of her. Alucard was on the same boat as her.

"I'm getting so many mixed signals from this." he muttered.

Jaune was quick to realized who he was transformed as and had the decency to blush. He willed himself to change, only to end up in a female version of himself. Pyrrha's blush became deeper and Alucard could only smack his face against his hand. Even the robots were confused.

Alucard deeply sighed and rubbed his temples. "I'll bite. Why on Remnant do you keep transforming into girls? Do you have some sort of cross-dressing fetish or something?"

Much to his and Pyrrha's surprise, Jaune meekly nodded. Pyrrha's eyes lidded over as a trail of blood dripped out from her nose. Alucard looked down on his daughter and poked her with his foot. "I think you broke her."

The robots raised their hands up, shifting them into saw blades. Jaune concentrated and turned into a rat, slipping through the holes and avoided getting sliced up. He quickly returned to normal and grabbed two robots by the head, smashing it into each other. Jaune grabbed Nigrum Mors and started barraging the robots with bullets. Each and everyone fell down, holes in their bodies, their circuits exposed. The robots then disappeared in a wave of code.

Alucard smirked, nodding his head approvingly. "Impressive. Now let's see how well you can adapt! Scenery Switch - Access Code: 4G4N0"

The area transformed into a caged arena, Alucard and Pyrrha outside while Jaune was inside. The blond stood up in confusion, before spotting a table. He walked up to it and his eyes widened in shock on what was on the table.

"Here's the deal: inside with you is a bomb. Within two minutes, it'll detonate and blow you to smithereens."

Jaune scoffed. "I'm calling your bluff. There's no way the bomb will kill me without hurting you and Pyr."

Alucard smirked and crossed his arms together. "The radius of the blast is only strong enough to engulf YOU."

Worry flooded Jaune. He didn't know anything about defusing a bomb. He looked around, trying to find another way. The timer ticked off to its last minute, making him panic. He stared at the cage, realizing that the holes are big enough to fit a small animal. The blond closed his eyes and turned into a snake, slipping through the hole easily. He quickly turned back and smirked smugly at Alucard. Before he could boast, the bomb exploded.

Unfortunately for Jaune, his arm was still in the bomb's blast radius, and was blown off. Jaune cried in pain and clutched the stump. He gritted his teeth as blood dripped down. Alucard shook his head and waved his finger, as if scolding a child, while Pyrrha looked worried.

"Huh?" muttered out Jaune intelligently as he felt his arm regenerate. He lifted it up to eye level and watched in fascination as dark matter grew from his arm's stump and bubbled, forming an arm. Its shape settled and turned into his arm, along with the armor. Jaune couldn't help but feel a feeling of awe at what he had just witnessed. He may have already seen it from Anderson, it was still amazing to see it up front.

The ground around him quaked, a glass cage dropping out of nowhere and trapped him. Alucard crossed his arms and gave out his next lecture.

"Not everything has to be resorted to brute force. Escape the glass cage by phasing through it. Imagine yourself as if you are untouchable and you in turn, cannot touch anything. Disconnect yourself from your sense of touch and phase through the glass."

Jaune gently took a deep breath and exhaled. He narrowed his eyes and focused on Alucard's instructions. He walked up to the glass and brought up his hand. To his amazement, it went through and he walked out entirely.

Alucard narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Impossible. He managed to get it on the first try. That's very peculiar." The Night Walker crossed his arm and and uttered out another code. "Scenery Switch - T08B1A5 B00N!"

The lights turned off, and darkness completely enveloped the area. Not one speck of light could be seen. However, Alucard, Jaune and Pyrrha could still see thanks to their vampiric eye sight. The surrounding area...was nothing. Just a floor and nothing else.

"Us vampires have superior eyesight compared to that of a Faunus. While yes, they too can see in the dark and farther than that of a human's, but ours is much better. We don't even need a scope for a sniper rifle. But now, we're moving in: to our third eye."

Jaune hesitantly quirked an eyebrow. "Is that...a sex joke or something?"

Alucard chuckled lightly and shook his head. "No. This is serious. You see, we have eyes for days."

"Eyes for days?" the blond inquired confusedly.

"Eyes for days." confirmed Alucard with a nod. "You see, we vampires have a hidden third eye that allows to see through physical illusions." Alucard frowned, remembering his experience "Yes. Physical. It wouldn't have worked against Aphrodite's. Trust me. I know, I've tried."

Jaune scratched his head in confusion, looking quite lost. "So..how do I-"

Alucard facepalmed and shouted. "Oh for the love of- Just go cross-eyed!"

The blond did as he was told. He crossed his eyes and immediately, another eye opened up in his forehead. It could only be describe as creepy. The eye resembled one of many that Alucard could make when accessed his Restraint: Level One.

In Jaune's perspective, everything was much clearer. He could see every detail of the room perfectly, like an HD video on MeTube. Jaune was in awe and was about to inquire on the next lesson, he was clocked on the cheek. Before he could compose himself, he was kneed in the gut and slammed into the ground. He looked up and saw three more robots. This time their lights were colored blue. He rolled out of the way as one of the robots stomped it foot down.

The vampire servant jumped up and spin-kicked one of the robots away. He blocked the second one's kick and parried the third one's punch, then threw it overhead. He charged at the second one and went to drop kick it, only for it to suddenly vanish.

Jaune blinked in surprise, before feeling something trying to attack him. The blond vampire ducked under a kick. He grabbed Nigrum Mors, slashing it upwards and sliced off the robot's leg and a part of its midsection. It fell on the ground, its circuits sparking. Jaune walked up to it and stabbed it in the head, ending its cybernetic life.

The two remaining robots stood side-by-side. Jaune grunted and twirled his weapon and brought it down, slipping into a defensive stance. Jaune narrowed his eyes, feeling the temperature drop down. A blue orb began to materialize within the palms of the two robots, which made Jaune tense up.

Whatever it was, it was too quick for Jaune to react to and it hit him. The orb pushed Jaune back and instantly froze him, his weapon dropping down. One of the robots ran up to the frozen vampire and brought up his hand. A giant hammer of made of ice materialized in its arm and it slammed it down, smashing the frozen boy to pieces.

Pyrrha winced. Even now, it hurt to see Jaune "die" despite knowing he can come back. It just...really hurts for her. The shattered pieces shook and began to gather in one place. It rose up and was enveloped in dark matter, shaping into Jaune. He gasped and shook his head.

"Man...it feels so weird to be not solid."

The robots charged at him, carrying ice blades. Jaune grabbed Nigrum Mors off the ground and reflected their strikes. He struck one by the chest and back kicked it away. He dashed forward and bisected it. The last remaining one attempted to back stab him, only for its arm to be bifurcated and its head decapitated.

Alucard narrowed his eyes, but also couldn't help but feel impressed. _"Incredible. He managed to defeat the Cyber Dummies in record time while in the dark but from what Pyrrha told in her letters, he barely had any experience OR skill in fighting prior to the two of them meeting. And yet."_

As the robot corpses disappeared, Alucard shook himself out of his thoughts and clapped, his look of suspicion replaced with that of delight.

"Quite impressive. You've managed to learn how to make use of your simple vampire abilities, like regeneration and shape shifting. Now, let's move on to more advanced aspects of our powers."

Jaune's eyes widened in shock at that. "W-what?! How were those simple? What could possibly be more advanced than that?!"

Alucard smirked and snapped his fingers, reciting another code. "Access Code: 1APN35"

The area transformed once more, now resembling a classroom. Alucard chuckled and shifted his clothing, shedding his usual attire for one that made him resemble a professor, glasses included. He walked up to the desk and sat down.

"Well, sit down you two."

Jaune nodded and grabbed Pyrrha. He untied the intricate knots on her body, allowing her movement. The redhead smiled at her servant and shifted into her Beacon clothes, Jaune following suit. The two of them sat down on the only present chairs in the room.

Alucard cleared his throat and snapped his fingers, a projector materializing. It activated and showed a vampire drinking blood from some poor sap.

"It's already a common fact that we vampires can suck out the blood of mortals. But what most don't know is that we also suck out their souls, and in turn, their Aura. With this, we can integrate their abilities into our own AND turn them into our familiar. I can only assume you know what a familiar is, right?"

Jaune nodded in affirmation. "A personified spirit that serves you, right?"

"Correct. However, they have no free will whatsoever. Unless of course, the one you drained of blood was willing." Alucard waved his hand dismissively as soon as he said that. "But the chances of that happening is one out of a million. After all, what lunatic would offer their entire blood stream to a vampire?"

Jaune then asked, "But then what happens to the soul once you absorbed it? Even if we're supernatural beings, surely our body can't handle two souls?"

Alucard chuckled and shook his head, much to Jaune's shock. "You're wrong. Our bodies CAN handle more than one soul. Once they've entered us, they're ours to use however as we see fit. To be our source of knowledge, power and our soldiers."

"Wow. But, is there a limit to how much our body can take?"

The Nikos patriarch mused, strumming his chin in thought. "As far as I know, there is no limit. It's possible our body can hold even a BILLION souls."

Jaune and Pyrrha nodded at the information, taking down notes with a notebook...they somehow acquired from nowhere. Alucard continued on to lecture the two, mostly Jaune, on some of other capabilities of a vampire. Like Hemokinesis and Hematophagy, the ability to control blood and to consume blood raw.

He also discussed the ability to form into a dark composition, which allows one to not be hurt by conventional weapons and can be used as a weapon. He continued on with discussing about their telepathic and telekinetic abilities, showcasing it by using said powers on Jaune. He then displayed another power: Gravity Defiance.

"Essentially, we can shift our personal gravity, as we see fit. For example," Alucard walked up to wall, right before surprising Jaune by walking on said wall. "we can enable ourselves to walk on walls. Or perhaps," Alucard jumped off the wall and began to levitate. "even float in the air."

Alucard dropped back down onto the desk. He looked at hid daughter and her servant and flashed them a smirk. This served to make Pyrrha a bit unnerved...because the smirk was mostly used when he's about to say something perverted.

"Now, I'm about to tell you a way to make things kinky if my daughter's blue balling you."

Pyrrha's face flushed deeply and started sputtering. while Jaune was doing a perfect imitation of a tomato. "F-father! T-there's no way I'd do that!" Pyrrha looked at the other way, twiddling her fingers embarrassingly. "E-except of course if I do FEEL kinky and want to bathe in his essence."

Both men looked at Pyrrha with stunned and wide eyes. Alucard couldn't but smile and pat himself on the back. "I can't help but feel so fucking proud right now." The Vampire King to tell Jaune what he was about to say. "As I was saying, hypnotism. It's quite easy to learn. Just focus some of your Aura and a bit of Dark Matter into your eyes and flash it in front of your intended target. And voila, one hypnotized slave!"

Master and servant were still blushing brightly at the very thought that Alucard had placed in their head. The Nikos patriarch let out a triumphant chuckle and decided to move on to more...pressing matters.

"Well, that's very much everything I needed to cover about vampire powers. Now, while that is done. There is some knowledge that I want to impart to you two. But I'm missing one important component. I'll be right back."

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other, looking quite nervous at whatever Alucard had in store for them. Their ears picked up the sound of something crashing and someone shouting in surprise, confusion, and slight defiance with a hint of embarrassment.

Alucard came back, carrying a tied up Aphrodite on his shoulder, which would mean he was grabbing her ass. Oh. Did I mention she's naked?

Pyrrha's and Jaune's face flushed deeply, but for two different reasons. Either way, they tried their best to avert their eyes. But unfortunately for Jaune, he couldn't help but let his eyes wander.

 _"Monty Oum! Is THAT how Pyrrha's gonna turn out?! Oum please forgive me, but I can't stop looking!"_

Pyrrha managed to control her blush and managed to ask a question. "F-Father, why is Mother tied up and naked?!"

The Nikos patriarch chuckled and sat down on the desk. He laid down Aphrodite on his lap, facing down. "Simple. This is her punishment for what she did to Jaune. I tied her up to make sure it chaffs and is very uncomfortable for her. Plus, she'll be the model, which I'll demonstrated some of my..."techniques" on her."

Aphrodite perked up, an excited smile on her face. "Ooh! Is it already time to import our knowledge to Pyrrha and her, now that I see it, cute boy toy?"

The daughter of Alucard's face flushed once more and imitated a tomato. "M-Mother!"

Jaune managed to catch the implication in both what Aphrodite and Alucard had just said. "W-wait! Are you talking about sex techniques?!"

Husband and wife glanced at each other, a certain gleam shining in their eyes. They looked at the two teens and grinned, replying at the same time.

"Yup!"

Metal cuffs popped out from the chair and restrained Jaune and Pyrrha. They were trapped, their wrists, legs and neck constricted by the restraints. The both of them panicked and thrashed against it, but it bore no fruit.

Alucard chuckled, having a mixture of pervertedness mixed with a hint of cliche villain laugh. His hands brushed against Aphrodite's supple butt, groping it passionately. He stopped and lifted it up. His grin became maniacal and grew amused at his daughter's and her servant's reaction.

"Sex Ed starts now~"

Pyrrha and Jaune screamed in terror as Alucard and Aphrodite started.

Meanwhile in the background, RWBY, Ren and Nora were watching the demonstration with varied reactions. Both Weiss and Ruby looked extremely horrified and traumatized. Blake was blushing up a storm, her legs rubbing each other so intensely. Yang ignored Ruby and opted to make the best lenny face she could muster.

And Ren and Nora?

"You taking notes on the ones that don't need vampire powers?" asked Nora.

Ren nodded, as he furiously took down notes. "Making sure to add in a few doodles just to be sure."

Nora continued watching, before turning her attention to Ren. "Hey, Renny? Does this make u-"

Before she could even finish, Ren grabbed her by the collar of her outfit and smashed his lips against hers. Nora's eyes widened in shock, surprise and joy. She didn't know how to react! Before she could reciprocate, Ren pulled away and flashed a smirked at his childhood friend.

"Does that answer your question?"


	7. Vacuan Stand-off

**I admit, this chapter was long overdue. But with school on my ass, I had to focus on all of the subjects to get at least a passing grade in them. And unfortunately, I re-discovered the Ace Attorney series so that took up some of my free time as well.**

 **Woops!**

 **Now, in this chapter, the spotlight has been decided to shine on our favorite dapper criminal - Roman Torchwick! Now, a bit warning, this chapter contains the name of an author. I am NOT bashing him, the context makes it look I am, but I** **'m not.**

 **I don** **'t know how accurate the Portugese words used here, because I'm a pleb that uses Google Translate, and what's even worse is that the English translation is lost so I can't even tell what is is.**

 **That** **'s about everything that should've been brought to your attention. READ AND REVIEW!**

* * *

A week has gone by since Jaune's..."lessons" began. Aphrodite and Alucard did everything in their literal power to both showcase and teach Jaune and Pyrrha every kink and fetish they could possibly teach. Except, of course, cucking, bestiality, necrophilia and a few other sick fantasies that should NEVER EVER be uttered.

Seriously, what is wrong with people?

Moving on, it ended with Pyrrha and Jaune looking very much red, like ripe tomatoes. They couldn't look at each other because of the pure embarrassment they felt. And the fact that they couldn't stop themselves from re-imagining everything...with them in it.

Luckily, they had managed to get over it and were currently sparring in the courtyard. The Training Room was...filled with things they didn't want to remember so they opted to avoid it for the time being. On the plus side, Jaune and Aphrodite were now on good terms.

From the second floor of Hellsing's Headquarters, Alucard watched the spar from the windows with a pleased look. Walter standing far behind him. The old butler looked at his former partner with an amused smirk and a quirked eyebrow.

"Don't you think you were a bit too direct with your approach, Alucard? After all, they're just seventeen years old."

Alucard chuckled and gave a glance to Walter. "Of course not. They're old enough to kill, and with that logic, they're old enough to know every kink and fetish about sex. With a few exceptions, of course."

Walter shook his head bemusedly and took of his spectacles and wiped it. He placed it back on and decided to switch the topic of their conversation.

"You know, I'm surprised you haven't used any of your vacation days yet."

This seemed to spark a reaction out of the vampire. Alucard slowly turned his head to face Walter, a look of surprise and confusion on his face.

"Vacation days?" he asked with a bit of hesitance.

Walter nodded in confirmation. "Yes. Vacation days. A period of leave with payment."

Alucard walked over to Walter and grabbed him by the shoulder. This served to unnerve the butler as Alucard started shaking him.

"You mean to tell me that I could leave anytime I want and not get yelled at for doing so?!"

The former vampire hunter could only stammer out his reply. "Y-yes! You can! It's been an established law in Remnant decades ago!"

Alucard stopped shaking the butler and placed him down. He seemed to contemplate on his next action with this new-found information. He looked back outside where Pyrrha and Jaune were sparring and suddenly grinned. Alucard took off his fedora and placed it over his chest, letting his hair fall down as he chuckled.

"If that's the case, I'm taking my family along with Jaune."

Walter nodded, filing it in his head to inform Integra later. "Call me curious, but where do you plan in going?"

Alucard smirked. "Vacuo."

* * *

 **In the Grimm Lands**

Major grinned. He drummed his fingers together as he sat across his Führer. It was just the two of them, along with Doktor and Arthur, the both of them standing besides their respective superiors. The four of them were discussing Salem's plan, and Major was impressed.

"You intend to steal the four relics left behind by the Deity Brothers from the main kingdoms of Remnant and zen use it to become an omnipotent being." The leader of Millennium couldn't help but clap at the plan. "It's most ingenious! No one would be able to stop you then. The world's fate is in your hands!"

The corner of Salem's lips tugged into a smirk. The Grimm Queen nodded. "Indeed." she confirmed. "I plan to take the Relics and reshape this world as I see fit. And if I am successful, I will indulge you with a part of Remnant that is situated with an endless war."

The blond's eyes gleamed with excitement. Just the thought of an endless war. It absolutely filled him with glee and the giddiness of a child.

"Not to worry, Mein Führer. Once we've removed Alucard from the equation, the domino effect will certainly kick in and soon, Remnant will be yours!"

Arthur and Doktor nodded in agreement. With that, Salem dismissed them. However, before any of them could leave, a pink-eyed feminine cat boy popped up right in the middle of the table. He stood up, dusted himself and faced Salem.

"Führer Salem! I have some news!"

Doktor sighed and stopped himself from massaging the bridge of his nose. "What is it, Schrodinger?" We were just about to leave."

He cheekily grinned and went up to Salem's lap, who started scratching the cat boy's ear. This served to make him purr, but not enough to distract him. "Well, it seems that, oh yes that's the spot, one of Cinder's pets, Roman Torchwick, got transferred to Vacuo."

Arthur couldn't but quirk an eyebrow. "What? That's the most illogical thing Ironwood has ever done! Why on Remnant would he transfer Torchwick to Vacuo?"

Major shrugged. "Well, that doesn't matter. What does matter is that a part of the plan has now been derailed!"

Salem nodded in agreement. "I concur. The plan was for Torchwick to hack in the main Atlesian ship with Arthur's virus in order to reduce Ironwood's forces. And that was suppose to happen because he was imprisoned inside of said ship. But now that he has been transferred to a cell in Vacuo, I see no more use for him."

"Would you accommodate me by letting me kill him, Deusa?"

The brown-clad male in Major's forces walked in, an arrogant smirk on his face. The man bowed and looked at Salem. "That is, of course, if you would bestow upon me such honor."

Salem seemed to think this through, strumming her fingers on her chin. The Mistress of the Grimm nodded and dismissed him. "Very well. Go, and don't come back until you bring me his decapitated head."

He grinned and ceased bowing. "It will be done." He tipped his fedora and his body fell apart into a flutter of cards, disappearing through the castle windows and flew off into the distance.

* * *

 **In a Hellsing Private Jet**

The Nikos family, along with Jaune were in said aircraft. Although, their positioning isn't what one would exactly suspect. Alucard and Jaune were in one end of the room, while Aphrodite and Pyrrha were in the other.

Both students' faces were flushed red, as Alucard and Aphrodite looked at their respective companions with a watchful eye. Jaune and Pyrrha perked up and tried to explain themselves.

"But we were just gonna-"

"No." cut in the two parents."You two are not sitting next to each other and that's final."

Jaune and Pyrrha pouted and couldn't help but whine. "We just want to hold hands!"

Alucard and Aphrodite didn't relent, shaking their heads. "No. I refuse to allow the two of you to perform such degeneracy and lewdness within my, or should I say our, presence."

It's really frightening how both couples spoke in perfect sync despite being in opposites sides of the room.

Jaune couldn't help but slump back, looking at Alucard with a distress and confused look. "How is holding hands a degenerate and lewd act?"

Alucard quirked an eyebrow but decided to entertain the question.

"It's quite simple. Internet is for porn. Therefore, you find fetishes on the internet. Knowing this, less common fetishes must be less common on the internet. Hand holding is on the internet, and therefore porn/fetish. Hand holding is rare on the internet, therefore it is a rare fetish. Rare fetishes are seen as lewd and scandalous by society. In conclusion, hand holding is lewd and scandalous."

He stopped and stared at Jaune. "Does that answer your question?"

The blond could only blink rapidly, not knowing how to react. "Uh...sure?"

And the rest of the trip went on with awkward silence.

* * *

 **In Vacuo's Holding Cell**

Roman sighed for umpteenth time. He didn't know why or what he did, but Ironwood had him be secretly transferred into Vacuo'a custody. According to him, they had better interrogation methods than he could ever cook up.

And for some reason, his cute, kind of lovable, partner in everything decided to try bust him out off-schedule...only to discover the contents of the mini fridge in his cells. So, instead of breaking him out, she decided to stay. But he couldn't blame her.

That mini-fridge had an unlimited stock of cherry cream soda.

The dapper criminal could only stare at his assigned guard, who was staring back as he chewed gum.

"Seriously, doesn't he have anything better to do than just wait for us to melt like a candle or an ice cream?"

Out of nowhere, a card shot straight to the guard's throat, slitting it. Blood gushed out and would've covered Neo and Roman if not for the reinforced glass pane that served as their wall. Roman narrowed his eyes, seeing the blood-stained Jack of Hearts.

Before he could further look at it, the card floated and fluttered up in the air. More cards materialized, which started to strangely revolve around one place. It dispersed and revealed a man in brown, looking very dapper.

Roman sarcastically perked up at the newcomer. "Huh. It's nice to see a fellow dapper man." he commented.

Alhambra chuckled and tipped his fedora. "I guess the same can be said to you, amigo. I'm Tubalcain Alhambra, or you can call me, "The Dandy Man". You see, my employer told me to come here to take out the thrash, and I intend to please them."

Roman and Neo said nothing. Roman blinked while Neo took a sip of her cherry soda. Alhambra almost face faulted at their lack of reactions.

"Why aren't you afraid? I just literally said I came here to kill you!"

The criminal duo looked at each other and suddenly shattered, the remains quickly fading out of existence. Alhambra took a step back, shock overcoming him. He shook out of his stupor and started mumbling a line of curses.

"Aqueles filhos da puta chupando, pedaços de merda, bastardos! Quando eu puser minhas mãos neles, eu vou foder com eles abertos, então caveira foda seus cadáveres!"

This went on for about a few more minutes.

* * *

 **Where Roman and Neo are**

Roman fiddled with the police uniform for the umpteenth time, before being smacked by Neo on the arm, who was also wearing a similar outfit. The ice-cream lady placed an illusion over their appearance, making them look unrecognizable. One of the guards gave them the key to their locker room, after trading in a pantie shot, courtesy of Neo.

Roman sighed as he and Neo made their way for the exit. "You know, I still can't believe you flashed that girl your panties. Couldn't I have, you know, showed them my dick instead?"

Neo glared at Roman and pulled out a sign. **"No. Your dick is mine. And mine alone. Ain't no hussy's gonna look at it if they know what's good for them."**

The dapper criminal shook his head and focused at the task of hand. "Whatever. Let's get to the hotel and have a LONG comfortable time."

Neo smiled, but quickly frowned, flipping over her sign. **"Did we really have to leave the mini-fridge behind?"**

"Some sacrifices just has to be made, dear. That mini-fridge is one of them."

* * *

Alhambra finished up and growled. The dapper man adjusted his suit and fedora. He grunted and started walking towards the warden's office, thinking over on what just happened.

 _"Those putas knew I was coming! But that's impossible. They escaped, not to escape death, but because it was a sign of betrayal! Tch, I won't disappoint,_ _D_ _eusa, but scouring this kingdom just to find the two of them will be too much of a hassle."_

He stopped in front of the door to the warden's office and smirked deviously. _"So I'll just get some dogs to sniff them out for me."_ He brought up his foot and kicked down the door.

Alhambra walked in and was immediately met with the sight of guns pointed right at him. He raised up his hands, not to surrender, but to placate them. "Now now, calm down officers. There's no need to-"

Everyone immediately cut him off and started riddling him with bullets until their clips were empty. Alhambra fell to his knees, filled with holes and bullets. The warden, as identified by his badge, smirked and blew away the smoke on his barrel.

"Idiot."

"No need to be rude, Senor Warden."

Everyone gasped in shock and started murmuring to themselves as Alhambra stood, his wounds closing up. He dusted himself and readjusted his suit and fedora. He looked at everyone in the eye and grinned. "Now that I have your attention, I'm here to make you all an offer you can't refuse."

The warden recomposed himself and lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? And pray tell, what would this offer be?"

Alhambra replaced his grin with an evil smirk. "The gift of immortality."

Yet again, everyone broke off into murmuring, until the warden silenced the with a hand gesture. Alhambra crossed his arms and pointed at himself. "You've seen the proof, mi amigos. All of you shot me, until I was Swiss cheese, but here I am, standing very much alive and well. I just want you all to do me a little favor, and immortality is yours."

Alhambra took a step forward, prompting everyone to aim their weapons at him once again.

"Come now, doesn't the thought of immortality entice you? Undying, forever living! You could outlive your enemies, and maybe even rule over Remnant! All I need, is just one favor." As he spoke, he made a couple of hand motions to make it more convincing.

The Vacuan Army of Professional Enforcers(V.A.P.E) began to talk among themselves, discussing on what they should do. The warden placed his chin against his hands, mulling over his thoughts. He stood up from his seat and outstretched an arm.

"What do you want us to do?"

The dapper vampire couldn't help but grin deviously.

* * *

 **Back with the Nikos family, a few hours later**

The Nikos family Jaune arrived in Vacuo, which is also one of the kingdoms that houses the most Catholics. Their taxi dropped them off at "The Oasis", the only luxurious hotel in Vacuo, which was also built near Oum the Redeemer. Alucard, being the ever joker, couldn't help but yell out, "Monty wants a hug!" when he saw the statue.

Once they've entered the hotel, quickly asking for a room. The receptionist nodded and was quick to accommodate them with a room.

"There we are. 636, a regular two-bedroom."

Alucard chuckled. "Hilarious, but we want the penthouse."

The receptionist frowned and stammered. "I, I'm sorry ma'am b-but the penthouse has been reserved for Mr. Couer, a-and-"

The receptionist was cut off. Alucard's eyes glowed dimly, creeping out the poor boy. "I'm sorry but did you just assume my gender? Hehehehehe. We can't have that."

Alucard pointed right at the boy's face, right before closing it's distance and making him look at it cross-eyed. The receptionist's eyes widened as his chestnut eyes turned red, making the Nikos patriarch smirk victoriously.

"Now, repeat after me: You want to give us the penthouse. And you're going to kick out Mr. Couer because he's an asshole."

"I, I want to give you the penthouse. And I'm going to kick out Mr. Couer because he's an asshole."

The Vampire King stifled his laughter and looked at Jaune. "See? This is the effectiveness of our hypnotism. We can make 'em say or do whatever we want. Now, watch this." Alucard cleared his throat and gave a fiendish grin. "Sword Art Online was a good anime that had a great plot."

The receptionist repeated it, but this time, he had a smile. "Sword Art Online was a good anime that had a great plot."

"See? And he believes it too!"

Jaune and Pyrrha immediately expressed their blunt disgust, while Aphrodite resisted the urge of smacking Alucard right on the head. No one deserved to say such atrocity. After getting their room key, the four of them went up to the top floor where the penthouse resided.

Jaune could only look at the room in extreme awe, never having entered such a luxurious room in his life. Pyrrha nodded in approval at the room, having always been accommodated by her sponsors. Aphrodite was mostly neutral, her sponsors always tried their best to spoil her with extravagant rooms like this.

It never worked.

Alucard dropped off their luggage and plopped down onto the couch, already sinking himself in the comfortable piece of furniture. He grabbed hold of the remote and pressed a random button, opening the TV, and placing it on a blockbuster channel.

While he did that, Aphrodite opened up their luggage and started setting everything out, leaving Jaune and Pyrrha to explore the entirety of the penthouse. The two of them were amazed on the interior decorating and how spacious it was. They ended up in the master bed room.

Pyrrha grinned, getting a naughty idea. She faced Jaune pushed him on it. Before he could utter a word, she straddled him by the waist and assaulted his lips with hers. Jaune didn't try to fight and quickly wrapped his arms around her to pull her in deeper. As Pyrrha was about to snake her tongue inside of Jaune's mouth, they were interrupted by a cough.

"Ahem."

Mistress and servant quickly separated, seeing Alucard standing at the door, arms crossed, eyebrow raised and an bemused look on his face. "The two of you aren't doing any sort of hanky-panky while you're mother and I are in the same building. The both of you are still seventeen for fuck's sake!" He uncrossed his arm and placed his hand on his hip. "Which is why the two of you will be in SEPARATE bed rooms. You two are forbidden from being in the same bed as long as we're around. "

"B-but what about the techniques you told us?" weakly asked Pyrrha.

Alucard lightly glared at his daughter. "They'll only be used after the two of you graduate from Beacon, not before."

Jaune and Pyrrha could only nod in defeat. They walked out of the room and went off to different direction. Pyrrha going to her room to take a nap while Jaune went out to wander around. He opened the door, only to blink surprise as a squad from V.A.P.E came out of nowhere and headed for the room on the other side. Jaune blinked again and slowly back into the room awkwardly.

Jaune turned around, only for Aphrodite to pop up which scared the night lights out of him. Aphrodite looked at him with a kind smile and asked a question.

"Were one of the bellboys giving someone a blowjob?"

Jaune could only respond with his best imitation of a fish out of water, making Aphrodite chuckle and look at him with that damned "innocent" motherly gaze.

"I'm sorry. That was a strange thing to ask. What I meant to say was, 'Is something wrong?'"

The young Arc let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding. He cleared his throat and told his girlfriend's mother what he saw. Aphrodite frowned, strumming her fingers on her chins.

"Odd. Why would Vacuo dispatch some of their forces into a hotel of all places? Unless there's a terrorist hiding in here, it wouldn't make sense."

* * *

Cut to a naked Roman and Neo, sitting on the couch, the both of them eating out a tub of ice cream while they watched a Netflix series after having just rutted like a couple of rabbits on a mating season.

Their door got kicked down, the police swarming in and aiming their weapons at the criminal duo. One of them blinked at what they saw and held up their gun. "Ah fuck! Not like this!"

One of his companions looked at him weirdly. "The hell are you on about, dude?"

The guy pointed right at Roman and Neo. "Them! Are we really gonna put down a brother after he just finished satisfying his girl?! Like, come on! This has got to be against the bro code in the Cult of the Laid!"

Fortunately for the criminal duo, this distraction gave them enough time to grab their weapons and knock out every intruder in their room with a single blow, except for the bro guy. The bro guy looked at unconscious companions and sighed in defeat.

"Man, you guys are criminal, but I'm bound by the bro code!"

Roman tapped his chin in wonder, until he figured out a solution. The dapper man picked up a case filled with canned drinks and handed it over to the brolice man. "What about a guy pact? Take some of our Red Cow and forget this ever happened."

The broldier man seemed to think over it, before eventually nodding and accepting the case. "Deal!" He popped open a can and took a huge swig, walking out of the room.

Roman and Neo looked at the unconscious bodies with a frown. He walked up to one of it and poked it with his cane. "What do we do about the bodies?"

Neo shrugged and pulled out a sign. **"I dunno. Liquify them?"**

The orange-haired male shook his head. "No. We can't do that, darling. If we dispose of the bodies, we'll get more of the army on our case. Let's just hide them."

* * *

Alucard pocketed his hands as he closed the door to their room. He sighed and walked along the halls. He only had one reason why he chose Vacuo for the location of his vacation. It was because of the information Anderson had given to him.

* * *

 _"You're sure of this?" asked Alucard._

 _Anderson nodded at his rival, who skimmed through the_ _bound_ _documents. "Aye. Apparently, one of the old Popes helped some of the surviving forces of Millennium escape into Vacuo and was repeatedly contacted by them, informed of their progress. Unfortunately, the bastard was already dead before we even found out."_

 _The Nikos patriarch slammed the document down on the table, a knowing look on his face. "So, it's highly possible that the ones who sent those two artificial vampires are also hiding somewhere in Vacuo."_

 _"Possibly. But we can't be too sure."_

 _Alucard rested his chin on his hands, a smirk crawling up his lips. "Hmph. I suppose it's high time I claim my vacation days."_

* * *

Alucard stopped in his tracks as the sight of a short girl pushing a large cart...with dozens of bodies piled up on it. But that wasn't what caught his attention. It was the fact that the girl was deliberately putting up an illusion over the bodies, making it seem like it looks different.

 _"Hmmm. How peculiar. It doesn't seem those people are dead, merely knocked unconscious._ _O_ _f course_ _,_ _the girl would try to cover it up as something else. This requires further investigation."_

He shifted his form and merged with the shadows, following the girl to her destination. It took a long while, until she stopped and entered an unmarked room. Alucard followed her in, revealing the room as nothing more but a spacious broom closet. The girl unceremoniously dropped every body onto the floor, stripping them bare, barring their underwear.

One by one, she placed their arms behind their backs and cuffed it, along with their legs. Once that was done, she blocked the exit and left, carrying the uniforms and equipment of the unconscious men.

Alucard went into the light, changing back into his standard form. He looked down upon the unmoving bodies and narrowed his eyes.

"From the looks of those outfits the ice cream girl took, these men are associated with the V.A.P.E force. What they're doing here is something I intend to find out."

Literally at random, Alucard grabbed one of the bodies by the head. He bared his fangs and bit his neck, draining his blood, his soul and his memories. Alucard sifted through the memories, until he came across the one with the deal of immortality.

Alucard's eyes widened in shock, before it narrowed down to a hateful glare. He clenched his fists, his dark matter seeping out and covered the unconscious police men. In his rage, he absorbed them all into his own being without a single thought.

If there was anything he hated above everything, it was humans or Faunus throwing away their mortality in their road for power, for "immortality". It disgusted him. It reminded him of his old self. He called back his shadows and exited the room, a single thought.

 _"It's been a while since I had a little 'walk'."_

* * *

Integra's eyes twitched in annoyance at what Walter had just told her. Alucard being Alucard, took off to claim his vacation days and whisked away his family and Jaune, leaving her to deal with Team RWBY, Nora and Ren.

The leader of Hellsing groaned out her displeasure and snapped her cigar in half. She took in a breathe of air and sighed. She grabbed another cigar and lit it up, taking a huge puff of smoke. Integra looked at Walter, then at the six students, then back at Walter.

"Escort them back to the Training Room and teach them everything they need to know about their weapons."

Walter bowed and led RWBY and NR out of Integra's office. Once they were away, the blonde slumped back into her chair, feeling a migraine coming on. "God, could this day get any worse?"

Integra's eyes widened, having just realized what she had said. She whipped out her Scroll and hurriedly dialed Pyrrha. Integra quietly chanted a mantra, begging Pyrrha to pick up her Scroll. The blonde let out a sigh of relief once she heard the call be picked up. As she was about to quickly issue an order, she was cut off. Not by Pyrrha, but Jaune.

"Um. hello? Ms. Integra? Is there something you need?"

 _"Crap. Well, I guess he'll do."_ The leader of Hellsing cleared her throat and spoke. "Arc, listen. Get this message to Pyrrha - 'Under any circumstance, do not let Alucard leave the room!'"

"Actually, you just missed him. He called in, saying something about going for a walk."

Integra's eyes widened and dropped her Scroll in shock at what she had just heard. She stood up and slammed her hands down on her desk, shouting, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

 **Back to Alucard**

Alucard stood in the middle of the deserts, the wind blowing against his coat, his face entirely void of emotion. His eyes were closed, his entire being radiating with the negative emotions of those he had consumed over the millennium.

His eyes snapped open, hearing the sounds of clicking. He turned, seeing as a group of Deathstalkers approach him. More clicking attracted his attention, he looked to his left and right, more groups of Deathstalkers coming.

The blank expression on his face was filled with a grin filled with sadism and excitement. The Casull and Jackal slid into his arms, ready to be used against his foes. He aimed at each direction with the opposite hand and started shooting at the Scorpion Grimm, not even bother to looking at them.

Every shot hit the Deathstalker directly on their face plate, immediately killing them. Alucard spun around and was met with about six stingers to the gut. The vampire laughed in pure psychotic bliss. He took hold of the stingers and ripped it off his body. He looked at the appendages and grinned at the Deathstalkers.

Despite being creatures sustained by negativity, they felt unnerved by the grin. Alucard's laugh grew louder as he shot all of them up close, the Deathtsalkers ending up nothing but piles of black goop, before eventually dissolving.

Alucard's grin didn't leave his lips as his body started radiating more negativity. The ground began to quake, making Alucard chuckle yet again. A King Taijitu popped out from the ground and went to lunge at the vampire, only for its head to be completely blown off.

Alucard lowered his gun and sighed contently. "Well, that was certainly cathartic." He looked at his watch, seeing it was thirty minutes until 7:00 P.M. "Looks like I've been here for far too long than I'd anticipated. Might as well go back before they start worrying."

He changed his form once more and merged with the shadows, going back to the hotel.

* * *

 **Back to Vacuo's Holding Cells**

The warden frowned, getting no reply on the radio. "Tsk. It's been hours since we've sent up, like, 10 guys to the hotel and we haven't heard back from them." He faced Alhambra, asking a question. "Think everything's alright?"

Tubalcain grinned and tried to placate them. "Naturalmente, don't worry about it. Of course everything's fine~!"

The corrupt official relented, but somewhat pressed on. "Well, no matter what, we're still going to get our immortality right?"

The dapper vampire propped up his legs on the table and flicked his fedora. "My friend, do I look like the kind of guy who would go back on an agreement?" He shrugged. "By the way, you may want to send more men."

"Well that sounds reasonable." said the warden after a few moments of saying nothing.

The V.A.P.E soldiers all charged in and lined up against a hallway. They cocked their guns and prepared to kick down the door, only for one of them to mention something.

"You know, besides stealing Dust, those haven't done anything noteworthy to be actually declared as terrorist."

"Dude, are you defending those fuckers? Don't you remember, they're working with the White Fang, and literally, caused the Breach a week ago." said one of the schmucks.

The red-haired soldier, the one who spoke first, scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "But those were offenses charged against him in Valean land. So technically, they're not a criminal in here."

Each and every one of his comrades shook their heads at him, as if disappointed in him. One of the soldiers with a scar spoke. "Even still, you gotta remember, General Ironwood personally sent him here so we can crack him up. What do you think his reaction's gonna be when he finds out Roman Torchwick escaped our clutches?!" He looked at the penthouse suite and grinned. "But if it makes you feel better, how about we store the penthouse room, kill the occupants then pin it on Torchwick and his companion.

The redhead thought if over before nodding with a grin. "Alright, let's do it."

The V.A.P.E. soldiers slowly approached the door of the penthouse, their face devoid of any emotion, barring professionalism. The one with the scar, made a few have gestures, ordering his comrades to bust down the door.

Four out of twelve grabbed a battering ram and broke down the door. They all quickly swarmed in and took aim at the occupants.

"Don't move!" one of them shouted. "Get on the ground, now!"

The soldiers lowered their weapons, seeing Aphrodite, in nothing but a mere bath robe, reading by a lamp.

"Keep it down, will you? My baby's asleep."

The V.A.P.E. soldiers stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. The redhead looked at his comrades with a panic-stricken expression. "Tell me we're not gonna be killing Aphrodite Nikos then blame it on the terrorists."

One with shades trembled. "She's one of the hottest babes in Remnant. There's no way we're gonna kill her!"

The scarred one shook his head and took aim once more. "Son, sometimes necessary sacrifices have to be made."

"And it'll be you twelve."

Before anyone could react, the sound of whipping reached their ears, a fast but blur going around them. The scarred one stayed vigilant and looked at his comrades.

"Whatever that was, get ready for- huh?!"

Much to his shock, his comrades lay dead on the ground, dismembered with their blood coating the carpet. He looked back at Aphrodite, only to find himself beheaded.

Aphrodite chuckled in satisfaction and called back her whip, Agnoo. She looked at the dismembered corpses and licked her lips.

"At least I don't have to call for room service now."

She sat back down went to read her book yet again, but not before contacting Alucard through their telepathic link.

 _ **"Hey love, you done with your walk yet? Some idiots from the V.A.P.E. stormed in our place and tried to kill me, but they're dead now so we don't have to order for room service."**_

It didn't take long for Alucard to respond.

 _ **"I WAS done, but now I have the sudden urge to go out and kill those pricks. I'll be late for dinner, don't wait up for me, honey buns. Love you."**_

Aprhdoite smiled warmly and went back to reading. _**"Alright, I love you too."**_

* * *

 **In The Oasis' Elevator**

Alhambra growled and crushed the apple in his hands. "Those putas can't do ONE simple job. Tsk, Vacuo screws everything up." The elevator's ping attracted his attention. He sighed, waiting for the elevator to open. "Oh well, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

Alhambra walked out of the elevator and went towards Roman and Neo's room. He shuffled a few of his cards into his hands. "Now then, time to clean up Cinder's mess."

He brought up his foot and kicked down the door. Almost immediately, Alhambra was met with hostility, being shot in the face with Fire Dust. The dapper vampire took a few steps back from the force, his face reforming. He looked forward and saw Roman pointing his cane at him, while Neo looked at him with a sneer. Alhambra tipped his fedora and threw the cards at the criminal duo.

Neo ran up in front and opened up her parasol, blocking the projectiles. Alhambra frowned at this. "That's one tough parasol." He shuffled a few more cards and sent them all to the two, this time, in a low sweep.

Torchwick and Neo were swept off their feet, allowing Alhambra to send more card attacks at them. Some of the cards crashed against the floor and caused some smoke to block his view. Alhambra grinned, toying with a Queen of Clover.

"I'd like to see them trump that."

The smoke died out, revealing an unharmed Torchwick and Neo. Alhambra dropped his card in shock and growled. "Impossible! How are you not hurt?!"

Torchwick smirked and raised hand, revealed to be holding an ace, a king, a queen, a jack and a ten of spades. "Let's just say, I have a trump card." He grunted and threw back the cards at Alhambra.

Alhambra growled and smacked the cards away, before a few more popped out and began to rotate around him. Roman took aim and started firing, only for all of his shots to be blocked. The dapper vampire gathered his cards and flung them into a barrage attack.

Roman grabbed Neo by the waist and threw themselves into the window to dodge the attack, only to result in them falling down from a very large height. The dapper criminal took hold of his cane and aimed at a flag pole. He fired it and it shot like a grappling hook, wrapping around the pole, allowing them to swing down to safety.

Unfortunately, as they were about twenty feet off the ground, a card cut through the cable, forcing them to drop down quicker. The duo quickly shifted themselves into a position that would hurt the least when they fall. The two of them landed, relatively unhurt.

Roman groaned in annoyance as he dusted off some dust on his suit. "Seriously. I just got thing cleaned!"

Neo rolled her eyes and pulled out a sign. **"There's more things to worry about than your clothes, you know?"**

"I'd listen to here, if I were you."

Neo flinched, feeling some things embed in her back. The petite lady fell down, face first and unmoving. Roman noticed the cards on her and grew worried. He ran up to her, only to jump back as he was barraged yet again with playing cards. Unwittingly, he ended up jumping into Alhambra's fist, which was followed up with a roundhouse kick. Roman slid against the ground, groaning. Alhambra cockily smirked and brought more cards into his hands.

"It'd be unfair to fight with a partner, no? I was just evening up the odds."

Roman clicked his tongue as he stood up, unconsciously rubbing his cheek. _"Yeah, in your favor. When has a vampire versus a human EVER become fair?!"_ He adjusted his hat and shot at Alhambra

The agent of Millennium merely chuckled and sliced through the blast with a single playing card. Torchwick growled and repeatedly pulled the trigger. Alhambra smirked, either dodging or slicing the blasts in half.

Roman looked annoyed and went with a more direct approach. Alhambra didn't expect the orange-haired criminal to slam his cane in his face. Torchwick dashed forward and brought down his cane on Alhambra, following it up with a butterfly kick. He smirked and shot Tubalcain in the face, blowing it up again, only for the rest of his body to disappear in a flutter of cards.

"Another card trick." Roman absentmindedly mused out loud.

Alhambra reappeared right behind him and snapped his fingers. "You've activated my trap card."

Torchwick looked around, seeing himself surrounded by revolving cards. "Oh crapbask-" He was cut off as the cards converged towards him.

Roman grunted and dodged all of the cards with grace. Alhambra narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. For some reason, he felt a bit bothered by Torchwick. "As far as I'm aware, you're just human, yet you dodged my attacks like you're above one."

Roman chuckled and shrugged. Tubalcain's eyes shot open, noticing the orange glow around Torchwick, before it narrowed down to a glare.

 _"Desgraçado! He has a Semblance! That's what enabling him to dodge my attacks!"_

"What's wrong Dandy Man?" asked Roman both tauntingly and mockingly. He bowed and gave him a conceding grin. "Don't have any tricks left up your sleeve?"

Alhambra growled, trying to hatch up a plan. _"Tsk. Whatever that ability of his is, it's making him predict my moves. And that orange glow around him, must be his trait whenever he activates it."_ However, a smirk crawled up to his lips. _"But, I practically have a never-ending supply of cards, while he doesn't have unlimited Aura. Let's see which runs out first, cabron."_

The two dapper men stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. When none of them made a move, Alhambra decided to take the initiative and threw another card at Roman. Roman didn't even dodge and instead caught it. Alhambra narrowed his eyes and threw a whole hand at him.

Roman back flipped out of the way and returned fire. Alhambra materialized a deck. He quickly shuffled it and threw it around him, manipulating it like a makeshift shield, blocking every shot Torchwick made. Once Torchwick ran out, Alhambra gathered his cards and slammed it down, turning it into a storm of playing cards.

Roman's eyes widened, having no time dodge. The cards passed through and started shredding through his body.

Or at least, it looked like it.

Alhambra gaped in shock as Torchwick wasn't covered head to toe with slash marks and blood and instead shattered like glass.

"Okay. This was NOT expected at all."

"Trump this!"

Alhambra didn't have to time to react as his head was once again blown off. He stumbled forward, before being pushed down by another blast. Roman walked up to Alhambra and kicked down his body, watching as the dapper vampire's wounds regenerated. He aimed his cane right at Tubalcain's head, a clicking noise ringing.

"Alright big guy, so, let me just repeat what you told me earlier. My boss's boss wants me dead...because Ironwood transferred me here, instead of keeping me locked up in his ship. That, is extremely stupid."

Tubalcain smirked. "Feh. Wouldn't you like to know?" Alhambra took him by surprise and swept Torchwick off his feet. The Dandy Man quickly walked up to him and kicked him right in the face. "Now now, chica. You can't just ask me something like that, and expect me to crack just because you caught me by surprise." He grabbed Roman by the collar and forced him to look him in the eye. "You and I need to have a little one-on-one."

* * *

 **Vacuo's Holding Cell**

The warden remained calm, as one of his subordinates looked at him with a hopeful look. "You think Alhambra can take him?"

The warden merely looked at him straight in the eye. "Calm down, man. He's immortal, unlike Torchwick. As long as the battleground's cordoned off and everyone was evacuated before-hand, there's nothing to worry about. Besides, I'm just wondering what I'm gonna do with my immortality."

Not long, gun shots rang through the room, causing every one to stand up and pull out their guns. Before anyone could even have the to the time to react, they all found themselves with gaping holes in their stomach, all barring the warden. The warden gaped as his subordinates fell down, dying from blood loss. He took a step back, still not processing that his men had just been killed.

 **"Mortals like you disgust me."** a voice said out of thin air.

The warden aiming at nothing in a panic. There was nothing, no one. Just him and the corpses of his men. This served to make him feel unnerved and terrified. It would only increase when someone began to chuckle, even though no one's there.

"W-who's t-there?! S-show y-yourself!" stammered out the warden.

Shadows erupted from the floor, forming into a human figure. Some of it seeped out and swarmed over the corpses of the dead V.A.P.E. soldiers, consuming it. The warden panicked and began shooting at the shadows, which served no purpose at all, than to make it laugh at the futile attempt.

 **"Hrahahahahah! How pathetic! A warden, scared by a mere shadow. You humans get scared over such trivial matters, it's not even hilarious."**

The warden took a step back, his hands shaking, his facial expression looking quite terrified. "W-w-who are you?!"

The shadows finally receded, revealing the grinning form of Alucard, his Casull out and aimed it directly at the warden. " **You're execution. You're men were willing to kill my beloved wife just to pin it** **on** **so-called terrorists. That's something I cannot abide by. What's more, you're doing the work of a criminal, just to get immortality. Unfortunately for you, I don't feel like to be in a sparing mood."** Alucard's grin became demonic as he pulled the trigger. **"Farewell."**

The warden did nothing to avoid his fate, stuck to the floor because of his fear. The bullet struck his chest, pierced and obliterated his heart. He fell down, his expression of fear forever plastered on his face. Alucard lowered his weapon and proceeded to walk out, not even bothering to add the man into his collection of souls.

* * *

 **Back to Roman and Alhambra**

Torchwick grunted, sliding across the streets again. Alhambra walked up to him and grinned. "Your time is up, puta." He brandished more of his playing cards, preparing to pierce him.

Alhambra threw the cards at Roman, only for him to disappear in a flash of pink. "Que mierda?!"

Roman ran up to Alhambra from behind and drop kicked him. He quickly flipped himself up and shot at Alhambra. The dapper vampire brought up his card, once again blocking Roman's attacks. Alhambra gathered his cards and had them form into multiple spears. He brought down his hand and the spears shot at Roman.

Roman began to let off another orange glow. In his perspective, everything was moving slowly, every detail in clear quality. He grunted and moved out of the card spears' way.

Seeing as that little trick didn't work for him, Alhambra resorted to just barrage Roman with cards. This time, however, Roman deflected each one instead of catching it. Alhambra noticed an opening and smirked. Brandishing two more cards, he threw one first, right before throwing the other discreetly.

The orange-haired male saw this and quickly deflected it. He didn't see the second card coming.

Torchwick let out a cry of pain as the card sliced off his arm, Melodic Cudgel falling down with it. He took a step back, trying to stop the bleeding. Alhambra laughed out mockingly and materialized more cards.

"I suppose you've been disarmed, no?"

"Would you like one as well?"

A bullet passed next to Roman, appearing out of nowhere and shot Alhambra's arm, completely obliterating it and earned him a loud cry of pain. The Dandy Man took a step back, reeling from the pain he felt. Torchwick blinked, noticing someone pass by him. That someone charged at Alhambra and completely cleaved his other arm in half, with just a hand.

Alhambra's cry of pain grew louder, almost sounding like a whimper. The figure grabbed Alhambra by the head, whom could do nothing but stare at the figure in fear.

"So, you're the Dandy Man." asked the figure rhetorically. It grunted in displeasure. "Pathetic. You're not even fit to call yourself a vampire!"

Roman blinked in surprise at the arrival of the new figure.

"To be beaten by a mere mortal on unequal grounds. What a joke!" the figure chuckled, making Alhambra whimper even further. "But now you need to die. You bribed the V.A.P.E to do your bidding, and they tried to kill my wife. Now, your soul is mine!"

From Roman's perspective, the figure seemed to have chomped down on Alhambra's neck. Considering the figure just declared himself a vampire, it made sense.

Suddenly, Alhambra burst in a blaze of blue fire, the remains falling down and disintegrating. The figure took a second to process this before he started laughing, the sound of clapping accompanying it.

"Are you done, darling?"

Roman turned to his left, seeing Aphrodite Nikos, standing their with an amused smile. The figure spun around, revealing itself to be Alucard. The vampire smirked, a glint in his eyes.

"Quite. I didn't think THEY would be back." He shook his head, his expression becoming serious. "But that doesn't matter. They will fall all the same."

Roman felt fear strike him. He would've let out a whimper until he remembered his beloved companion. "Neo!"

Alucard faced Torchwick. "Neo? If you mean that human ice cream, she's fine. Still paralyzed, but fine. And as for you."

The dapper criminal took an instinctual step back, the fear returning hundredfold. Alucard grabbed him by his remaining arm, Torchwick feebly trying to struggle against it. The Nikos patriarch took out a a pure Fire Dust and crushed it in hand. Instead of blowing up, it erupted in a blaze. Alucard forced it onto Torchwick's stump, cauterizing the wound. Torchwick did his best to stifle his cries of pain, but couldn't help but let out a few.

Alucard pulled back, the flames dissipating and the wound completely cauterized. "Now that that's done." He stopped, staring at Roman directly in the eyes, making him very nervous. "We need you to come with us."

* * *

 **In Beacon**

"Excuse me?"

Ozpin was talking with the councilors of Vale, with Glynda at his side. What they had just told him brought him confusion.

 **"You heard us correctly, Ozpin. Strange incidents having been occurring all over Remnant, the most recent one being in Mistral and Vacuo. The ruler of Vytal has the requested the four headmasters, accompanied with an aide, to go to Vytal Island for a meeting, along side the representatives of the Catholic and Protestant church, due to their speculation of vampires being the cause."**

Ozpin tilted his head and took a quick sip from his umug before asking. "And so you want me to attend, if the threats will eventually come to Vale."

The councilors nodded. **"Precisely. The concludes this meeting. Adjourned."**

The bespectacled headmaster sighed as the screen turned off. He held his head in his hands, feeling a migraine coming.

"Is something wrong, Ozpin?" asked Glynda in worry.

He swiveled his chair, looking out the window and gazed at the moon, his expression quite grave.

"I dearly hope there isn't."

* * *

 **The Grimm Lands**

"You fool!" shouted out Arthur, slamming his hand down the table. "Now they know of our location! Why didn't you interfere sooner?!"

Major merely chuckled and answered him. "You think TOO low of us, Herr Arthur. We set ablaze to that Vaucan dog while Alucard was sucking his blood. Since he was killed as that was happening, the memory absorption was cut abruptly, meaning Alucard would only know a BIT of information. They merely know the identity of who's behind Millennium."

A psychotic grin then spread across his lips, waving his arms across. "But they don't know that we are in alliance with Fuhrer Salem! Even if they do know that we Nazis are back, it does not change the plan one bit!"

Salem stood from her throne, gaining everyone's attention. The Captain was besides her, in a stance just in case something happened.

"If that's the case, then perhaps its time we formally reveal ourselves.

A few of her inner circle was confused, until Doktor smirked, figuring it out. "You want Schrodinger to crash the meeting in Vytal?"

"Indeed. From there, they will try to create a counter-plan over out plan." Salem smirked and sat back down. "But we know better and we will be able to create a counter over their counter-plan.

The Queen of Grimm chuckled deviously and grinned.

 _"Ready yourself Ozpin. You may have your warriors of light, but my darkness will snuff out your hope and completely_ _enshroud_ _you and your followers_ _with despair_ _. Soon, you will all lay dead before me."_


	8. Vytal Intel

**Yes. I know it** **'s been a while. Three weeks, to be exact. And I'm sorry, like usual. I bring the same old excuse of school taking up my time, just like it does to everyone else.**

 **But** **that** **'s about enough from me. Read and review!**

 **EDIT: Big thanks to merendinoemiliano and hirshja for noticing my mistake. I've** **now fixed it, as to remain consistent. You two have my gratitude.**

 **EDIT 2: I've forgotten to mention, the name of Shade's headmistress is a reference to the Scarecrow in Wizard of Oz.**

* * *

The Nikos family, along with Roman and Neo, sat at the penthouse's living room, waiting for something. The two former criminals were situated on the couch, hand cuffed and licking a popsicle.

"So...what now?" asked Roman as he took another lick. "Shouldn't you be taking me to Ironwood now?"

Aluacrd rose from his seat and faced the two. "That won't be necessary. The Queen of Vytal requested a mandatory meeting to take place in her kingdom. The attacks have reached the other kingdoms' ears and they want explanation. With your testimony, I'm sure we can shed some light about the attacks and perhaps your former boss' plans, earning you a bit of reprieve."

 **"We can work with that."** said Neo through her sign.

Out of nowhere, the door was smashed open. Jaune and Pyrrha grabbed their weapons and slipped into a defensive stance. Roman and Neo did not act and just kept on licking their frozen treats. Alucard and Aphrodite idly stood as the intruder entered the room.

It was just Anderson.

Jaune groaned out loud in annoyance as he and Pyrrha placed away their respective weapons. "Really Uncle Anderson? Smashing open the door? And not to be disrespectful or anything, but what are you doing here?"

Anderson just chuckled and adjusted his spectacles. "I came here to pick ya lot up and escort you all to Vytal Island. There's a private Vatican jet in one of the airstrips. So pack your bags and get your arses down there!"

Everyone nodded, barring Alucard. Aphrodite, Jaune and Pyrrha went back to their rooms to gather stuff, while Alucard merely stood and sighed.

 _"_ _Fuck._ _There goes my vacation days."_

* * *

 **Vytal Island**

Much later, they all arrived in Vytal. During the duration of the trip, Alucard couldn't help but crack a joke about how the jet was paid for through generous donations from "devout" Catholic followers to spread the word of God... All over His back, much to both Anderson's and Jaune's ire. Then there's the fact Alucard hung up a banner on Monty the Redeemer, which read "420YOLOSWAG4JESUS"

As the plane landed, the Nikos family prepared to disembark. As Jaune prepared to get off, he noticed his relative didn't plan to make any move to get out.

"Uh, Uncle Anderson? We're already here, aren't you gonna attend?"

Anderson sighed. He took off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Heinkel and Maxwell are already in the palace as the Catholic Church's representatives. While I, have the unfortunate responsibility of informing your parents of what happened during the past weeks."

At the mention of his mother, Jaune immediately paled, or, well, paler than usual. Pyrrha noticed her boyfriend's change in complexion and grew worried. "Jaune, what's wrong?"

"M-My parents! They still don't know that I'm a vampire now!" he stammered out. "Oh God. What are they gonna say once they find out?!"

Iscariot's secret weapon groaned out loud and started massaging his temples. "Ugh! Don't remind me. I'm the one who has to tell her of what happened to you!"

Immediately, Pyrrha faced the other way and frowned. In all honesty, she had forgotten about the consequences of her biting of Jaune. Now that she was reminded of it, it made her feel more guilty than ever.

Even though she wasn't facing them, Jaune knew what Pyrrha was feeling. But before he could comfort her, they were quickly ushered out by Anderson. The six of them immediately saw the palace, and quickly headed there.

The Vytal Palace was beyond beautiful. It couldn't be described with words alone. Simply put, it was breathtaking. The vampires plus former criminals entered and headed for the throne room.

* * *

 **Throne Room**

Every representative from the four kingdoms, as well as the Catholic and Protestant Church, were present and conversing with one another. Ozpin, accompanied by Glynda and Qrow, who returned on Ozpin's request, were talking with Ironwood and his soldiers, Winter Schnee and Ciel Soleil.

"It's been a while since every headmaster are all in one place." Ironwood leaned forward, his hands clasped. "I can't help but feel something bad is about to happen."

Ozpin shook his head and took a sip from his mug. "I'd admonish you for being so paranoid, General." He looked at the window, a look of apprehension on his face. "But I can't help but agree you with you."

Leonardo Lionheart sat across Shade's headmistress in silence, accompanied by two Huntsman from his Huntsman Academy.

Phobitra Lleki. A tanned woman with short, straw blonde hair, brown eyes and a scar running running across her face. She wore a black shirt with mismatched sleeves, her left arm showing, revealing the stitches on it, and black leather pants and combat boots. On her back was a short cape made out of feathers of a crane. She had her arms crossed, eyes closed, her two aides beside her.

Maxwell, with Yumie and Heinkel besides him, sat across Integra, who had Walter by her side and Team RWBY, Ren and Nora behind her. The three Catholics were discussing to themselves about Jaune's current status as a vampire.

"Quite literally, we have nothing to worry about." said Maxwell. "If Anderson says Jaune is still Jaune, then why worry at all?"

"Even so," tentatively started Yumie. "Jaune's a vampire now, a creation against the Lord. In all essence, he's a heathen now. Plus, he's under Alucard's daughter's command, who is a Protestant."

Heinkel 'hmph'ed and crossed her arms, a deep frown marring her face. "I'll believe it when I see it. I refuse to believe my little brother is a creature of the night."

Maxwell sighed at Heinkel's behavior and couldn't help but look at he with pity. "There's no use in denying it, Heinkel. But, if that's what makes you sleep at night, then be our guest and deny it all you want."

In the far back was the throne, where the Queen of Vytal sat. The queen was an elderly woman, her face hidden by the shadows, robed in a purple royal attire. In front of her were two bodyguards, just in case something bad were to occur.

Almost immediately, every conversation ceased and attention was drawn by the sound of Alucard, who seemed to be arguing with someone. Everyone could only stare in bewilderment as they listened in.

"What- What do you mean you forgot the song? Okay, screw- screw it, no screw it! Screw it! Just, t-take my scroll and hit random. No, just hit random. Okay. Three, two..."

The doors were barged open as the light blinded everyone and a vulgar song started playing in the background. The light died down, revealing a hatless Alucard and Aphrodite. Jaune and Pyrrha flanked Roman and Neo, making sure that they didn't try to escape. Pyrrha was also carrying a speaker.

After a few more seconds of tense silence, Aphrodite broke it by sighing. "Turn it off, dear. Unfortunately, it didn't work." she ordered.

Pyrrha meekly nodded and turned off the music. Integra smirked and chuckled at her subordinate's and his wife's misfortune. "Following your example?" she asked.

Husband and wife grunted at their boss. "Getting catty, are we?" said Alucard. The Vampire King looked forward, seeing the Queen of Vytal. Aphrodite faced the same direction. Their expressions immediately changed to that of nostalgic joy. The two of them didn't say a word and walked up to her.

Everyone, apart from Integra and Ozpin, looked in apprehension as the two approached the queen. The bodyguards blocked the two's path, about to draw out their weapons.

Alucard's face was hidden by shadows, but his eyes brightly glowed red within the dark. An unknown force acted and tossed the two away and snapped their necks for good measure.

Aphrodite and Alucard stopped in front of the queen and knelt down, a smile filled with respect on their faces.

"It's been a long time, Your Highness."

The queen let out a soft chuckle as she looked into the two's eyes. "It certainly has been. Exactly 50 years." She brought up her hand and cupped husband and wife's cheek, the both of them lightly growling in satisfaction. "Look at you two, your skins are still smooth as the day I felt it on my own. Both of you haven't changed in all those years, while I've grown old. Nothing more but a withered and wrinkled woman."

Obviously, Aphrodite and Alucard disagreed. "Don't be so quick to judge yourself, Your Highness. Like wine, you've aged with perfection." commented Aphrodite.

"Indeed. I still see the the tomboy within you all those 50 years ago, Elizabeth. But now? You've truly grown up to become a beautiful queen. Dare I say even more beautiful than the two of us combined." said Alucard, his voice laced only with seriousness and flattery.

The queen chuckled, a smirk appearing on her face as she allowed the two to rise once again. "Even now, the two of you still know exactly how to get me going. But I suppose it's time to stop lingering in the past." The queen lost her smirk and replaced it with a serious expression. "Please, report your findings."

Alucard spun around, looking directly at Roman. "Torchwick, you know what to do."

Said former criminal nodded, noticing everyone's attention to be on him. "Alright, it's pretty simple. Basically, my former employer wants to invade Beacon during the tournament's finals. She wanted to, stir up the people and make ounces of negativity to "feed" something. I don't know what that thing is, but if she needed that much negativity, it must've been something big."

Ironwood frowned and asked a question. "And what was your role in the invasion?"

"Before I was practically fired? I was supposed to take control of your ship with a virus my employer was suppose to install in in the CCT and cause a rift of distrust to form between Remnant and the Atlesian Army."

He was cut off by a furious Ironwood, who slammed his hand down on the desk. "That's preposterous! There's no way ANYONE can uploaded a virus in to the CCT. It's next to impossible!"

"I dunno, I think it could be possible."

All heads then turned to whoever spoke.

It was Ruby. The team leader noticed it and blushed in embarrassment. "I-I'm not defending him or anything, but I'm just saying, that MAYBE someone already uploaded a virus in the CCT and no one noticed yet."

"I'm afraid I will have to object to that notion, Ms. Rose." spoke out Ironwood. The General tapped his temple smugly and smirked. "I've just had my crew run a maintenance in the software a week ago and detected NO signs of a virus."

Torchwick shrugged and shook his head. "Believe what you will, General, but that's what I was supposed to do before I decided to defect."

At this, Phobitra decided to speak. "While on that note, what made you decide to defect?"

A deadpanned look cross the ginger's face and he jerked his thumb at Aphrodite and Alucard. "I'd rather work with a vampire than against them."

"Fair point." she conceded. "But this discussion is supposed to be about the attacks happening all over Remnant and the possible cause."

"I was getting to that." shot Roman. "Another reason I defected was that my employers decided to "waste" me. They sent a vampire on my tail and I actually beat him, before Mr. Alucard there stole my kill and gave me a reason to be afraid of him."

Alucard nodded and decided to take over the reins. "The memories I've absorbed from that vampire showed me his superiors. Needless to say, it proved ours and the Luna's thinking. To further explain, I'll start from the past. 55 years ago, Walter, Aphrodite and I were apart of a little organization to destroy a division of the Great War's Fascists run by an insane Major. Their very goal was to unlock the secrets of vampirism."

A scene showed itself quite briefly. A teen Walter, killing the enemies that stood in front of him. Aphrodite was right behind him, hacking down at those who dared tried to attack her, while Alucard was in the shadows, killing them from there.

Walter smirked, remembering those fun-filled days.

"The three of us destroyed that division, but from the looks of it, they survived and didn't lose sight of their goal. Now, it seems that they've achieved it and are now enjoying the fruits of their labor. To this day, I still remember their names; Remnants of the Fascists. The Laz Le Battalion. The Order of-"

"Millennium."

Almost everyone was quick to aim their weapons at the source of the voice. There stood Schrodinger, an almost child-like look on his face, his arms raised. "Warten Sie! How do you say, do not shoot the messenger."

Jaune blinked owlishly and leaned in to whisper something to Pyrrha. "Is it weird to say I'm a bit hard right now?"

Pyrrha faced her servant and gave him a smoldering look, making him blush. "Ooh. Want me to take care of it, my big servant?~"

 _ **"Absolutely not, young lady! You, your mother and I are going to have a serious discussion after this!"**_ bellowed out Alucard through their telepathic family link.

Aphrodite agreed with her husband's sentiments. _ **"Indeed. You and Jaune are WAY too young to be having sex.**_ _ **N**_ _ **one of you are having sex till you've both graduated from Beacon."**_

Pyrrha said nothing but blush in embarrassment. Jaune noticed but decided not to pry.

Ironwood was furious and stood up, slamming his hand down on the desk yet again. "How on Remnant did he manage to bypass the guards stationed in front, back AND above?!"

Ozpin took a sip from his mug and placated his comrade. "Calm yourself, General. There's no use getting so worked up over it."

The cat boy snickered as he strode up to the desk, holding a small screen, which he promptly placed down. "I'd listen to him, if I were you. Now then, my commanding officer, the Major, would like to personally introduce himself, along with our wonderful organization."

Schrodinger procured a remote and pressed a button...only for nothing to happen, much to his confusion. "What?! Uh- Ah-" The blond started to randomly press any button, hoping for it to turn the TV on.

Team RWBY and JNPR snickered at seeing the supposed enemy messenger struggle with such simple of technology. Qrow would've laughed out loud, but kept his childish side aside in favor of his professional one.

Although there was no video feed, there was still audio. Major's voice came out, sounding a bit confused. "Is something the matter, Schrodinger?"

"It's not working, Major!" complained the cat boy.

"Did you click "TV", then "Power?" asked the commanding officer.

Schrodinger blinked, finally noticing his error. "Oh. Wait. I'm on Video 2. I'm supposed to be on Video 1, aren't I?" The cat boy quickly changed channels, the TV lightning up and showing Major's face.

"Ah, there we go!"

Alucard's shoulders began to shake as he let loose a round of crazed laughter and clutched his stomach. "Y-you haven't changed one bit! Even now,you're the insane, obese Major I've fought years ago!"

Major rolled his eyes, waving his hand dismissively. "Yes, yes. Make fun of weight, why don't you?" His expression then changed to that of a psychopath's. "But, it's still nice to see the memorable Alucard once more, along with his provider, Integra, the Headmasters, and of course, very surprising to be honest, ye Arcadians! Tell me, Father Maxwell, how does it feel to work with your sworn enemy?"

The representative of the Catholic Church flashed a sneer at the screen. "Sworn enemy? I believe you are mistaken, you obnoxious pig sow. The Arcadian's sworn enemy are those of heathens, non-believers AND sick fucks like you. I'm willing to set aside my hatred for Protestants for we all have a common enemy."

Although it didn't show, Major was disappointed that he didn't manage to provoke the reaction he expected from Maxwell. "...Wow, just...kill all the fun! Put the fun in camps, why don't you?"

Alucard smirked. "You would know best, wouldn't you?"

Ironwood grew tired of the needless banter and slammed his fist down on to the desk once more to emphasize his anger. "Can we please just get to the fucking point?!"

Major grinned, loving the General's irritated look.

"Well, mind me if it seems a little too Valean for you, but... at some time, some place, something will attack you. Maybe. Probably. Could be happening right noooow~! But rest assured, this is no simple incursion. We have prepared studiously, and soon, the fruits of our endless dedication will run wild. And the blood of everyone shall soon flow out the rivers of Remnant!"

As Major droned on to the headmasters and representatives of the Catholic and Protestant church, Schrodinger took notice of Pyrrha.

"Fräulein...Fräulein...Fräulein...! HEY, FRÄULEIN!"

Pyrrha finally took notice of Schrodinger, who's been trying to grab her attention, and merely gave a humming sound as a response. Schrodinger smiled cutely and winked at the redhead. "We would make beautiful children."

Pyrrha's eyes shot open, taken aback by what the feminine cat-boy had just said.

It was then at that moment, Schrodinger knew, he fucked up. Something inside of Jaune was flipped. He didn't know what overcame him but next thing he knew, he tackled Schrodinger, took out Nigrum Mors and blew out his brains.

Schrodinger lay dead, his head completely obliterated like a watermelon, his brain and some fragments of his skull splattered across the floor. The Catholic Church representatives and headmasters, plus their aides, could only look on in shock as Jaune rose, asking an innocent question.

"Was that boy/girl bugging you?"

The Catholics face-palmed, while Alucard and Aphrodite nodded approvingly.

Major groaned and took of his glasses, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Shoot the messenger, why don't you?" He placed back his glasses and smirked. "A little bit of trivia, shooting the messenger usually begins the war!"

Everyone's eyes widened, Jaune most of all. "D-did I accidentally a war?!"

Major chuckled and waved his fingers. "Heavens no! Be thankful for that , Herr Arc. Rest assured, there is no war...yet. But soon, blood will bathe the streets of all kingdoms! Some day, just not this one."

Every representative snapped their fingers, their respective aides acting and taking out their respective weapons, shooting the TV to bits. After it was done, Integra faced Jaune and pointed where Schrodinger's body was.

"Arc, go clean up th-" Integra cut herself off, noticing that Schrodinger's body has mysteriously disappeared without a trace. "O-oh!"

Alucard opted to make a joke. "Oh wow! Looks like he was self-cleaning! And/or magical."

The queen need not raise her voice, as it was enough to be heard throughout the entire room. "Well, your orders should be quite obvious. Protect your kingdoms, find that man, kill him, and make sure you record it so I can fall asleep to it every night."

 **RECORD SCRATCH**

"He-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! You're still the same sadistic princess we've bedded all those years ago! Alucard was right, you haven't changed one bit!" laughed out Aphrodite.

The queen merely acknowledged it with a smirk. She dismissed everyone, which prompted them to leave the room. Before Jaune could open his mouth, he noticed Heinkel trying to approach him, but was being restrained by both Maxwell and Yumie.

"Let me go, you two! I just want to see my little brother, dammit!"

Maxwell rolled his eyes as he and Yumie pulled the blond back a bit further. "We both know that's not what you want, Heinkel. We're doing you a favor, by restraining y-"

Heinkel managed to get out of her friends' grip and charged at Jaune, confused fury in her eyes, screaming his name. The blond vampire blinked and found himself tackled to the ground. Pyrrha was about to move in, before feeling a hand on her shoulder stop her. She looked at whose it was and saw it was her father's. Alucard merely shook his head no, as if to say to let it happen.

Jaune stared at his big sister's eyes, who looked very conflicted. Jaune merely smiled and tilted his head.

"Hey, Heinkel. Nice to see my favorite big sister again."

Heinkel stared at Jaune, observing his changes. The only spectators left were Team RWBY, NPR, Roman, Neo Hellsing and the other Catholics. She snorted and whacked him on the head. "Seriously, Jaune. If you wanted to protect your girlfriend's dignity, shooting the guy's brain out was not the best way to do it."

She got off her little brother and helped him up. Maxwell walked up to his nephew and held out his arm. Jaune stood confusedly at what Maxwell was doing, before he was suddenly covered by white light. When it elicited no reaction, besides confusion, Maxwell lowered his arm and smiled in content.

"Well, I guess Anderson wasn't lying. The Lord still accepts you as a subject of his kingdom, despite becoming a vampire." He crossed his arms and cracked a smug smirk. "I see no reason to hate you for that."

Yumie rolled her eyes, knowing that the last bit was directed at her. She took the teachings of the Lord to heart. She immediately assumed the worst and thought of him as a heathen. But now that she knew the truth, she can rest easy.

Before anything else could happen, Pyrrha found herself staring at the barrel of a gun, courtesy of Heinkel. Jaune panicked and went to stop his sister, before stopping himself, realizing Heinkel's intentions. Pyrrha didn't flinch as Heinkel kept her gun aimed at the redhead's forehead.

Finally she spoke. "Promise me one thing. Don't break his heart. Ever! Capiche?"

Pyrrha didn't bother showing any emotion but nonetheless, replied. "Jaune is my servant, and also my beloved. We are forever bound to each other. He was the first one to treat me normally. I've no intention of ever breaking his heart."

Heinkel nodded, satisfied with Pyrrha's answer. She went back to her fellow Catholics and they walked off, Hellsing, RWBY, JNPR and the Criminal Duo watching them as they left. Once they were out of sight, Jaune released a sigh he had been holding.

"If that's how Heinke's gonna react, I'm scared how mom will."

* * *

 **Meanwhile in Arcadi** **a**

The Promised Lands. The kingdom said to belong to Monty Oum. Arcadia is a land filled with peace, prosperity, and the teachings of Catholicism. Anderson sighed as he took in the majestic view of Arcadia and couldn't help but smile.

"This is the greatest gift our Lord could have ever given us."

However, he quickly lost his smile as he set his sights at the house yonder. It was but a simple three-story home, surrounded by rows upon rows of flowers. Said house belonged to his descendants, the Arcs. He had but one objective: Inform them of Jaune's status.

 _"I'm not gonna like this. Not one bit."_ Anderson thought to himself. He sighed deeply and walked up to the door.

Anderson rang the doorbell, immediately hearing a muffled voice shouting for him to wait. Moments later, he was greeted by a handsome man who had shoulder-length silvery-blond hair and grassy green eyes. He wore a simple red leather hoodie, a black undershirt and black leather pants. The man's eyes slightly widened once he saw who was at his door.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise, Anderson. What brings you here?" asked the man.

"Aye. Well, you two weren't able to attend Beacon's PTA, remember? I filled in for you and now I'm here to tell you what they told me, Argent."

Argent's eyes lit up in remembrance and nodded. "Ah, that's right." He gestured for the priest to come in, a smile creeping up his face. "Please, come in. Rosé just brewed some tea."

Anderson obliged and walked in the home and into the living room. Once inside, he saw a beautiful lady that had pink flowing hair with bangs and deep azure eyes, wearing a simple house dress, placing down some cups and a teapot onto a coffee table. She looked up and saw him.

"Oh! Father Anderson, I guess you're here to tell us all about what my baby boy's been doing in Beacon."

He nodded and sat down on the recliner. "You'd be right."

Argent and Rosé sat down on the couch parallel to Anderson. The two men grabbed a cup, prompting Rosé to take up the teapot and pour them some tea. Argent smiled at his wife and took a sip of the herbal drink. He separated it from his lips for a moment to ask his great grand-uncle the question that was both on his and his wife's mind.

"So, what has our son been up to?"

Anderson placed down his cup, a proud look on his face. "He's fine. No. Actually, he's beyond fine. He had a bit of a rough start, but it eventually smoothened itself out in the end. The two of you should be happy to know, that he's also the leader of his team - Team JNPR."

Rosé's eyes brightened, looking quite happy. "Our baby boy fulfilling his dream!" She then slumped down, her face now the opposite of happiness. "If only we had actually trained him...he wouldn't have snuck in to Beacon to be the hero he always envisioned."

Tears began to fall down Rosé, regret and guilt completely overcoming her. Argent frowned and quickly consoled his wife. Anderson sighed, knowing full well why Rosé acted like this. Out of their eight children, only three of them were actually conceived, the others adopted. Jaune was their youngest and had always fretted over his well-being, pretty much confining him to only the safety of their home.

Now, it deeply pained the priest for what he's about to tell them.

 _"Might as well be quick with it, like a band-aid."_

As he parted his lips to bring down the bad news, Anderson was cut off by Rosé, who had ceased crying.

"So! Tell us more about our baby boy. Has he made any new friends? What about a girlfriend?"

Anderson mentally flinched at the mention of a girlfriend. _"Well...this is gonna be really awkward."_ Anderson cleared his throat and sighed. "Funny you should mention that..."

Rosé's bangs seem to shadow her eyes, a chilling aura started to come out of her. "If you dare say that my baby is gay, I'm going to castrate you. Over. And. Over."

Anderson rolled his eyes at the threat and scoffed, not thinking over his next works. "Be glad that his girlfriend's just a Protestant Vampire!"

One would hear a pin drop due to the thick silence coating the room. Argent and Rosé's jaws dropped, looking quite shocked with a mixture of anger. Anderson face-palmed, cursing himself for saying that out loud.

Finally, the two had snapped out of their stupor and could only shout out one word simultaneously. "WHAT?!"

Argent took a quick sip from his tea before glaring at the priest. "Explain yourself, Father Anderson!"

"One; said Protestant Vampire is his partner. Two; Jaune didn't care about her religion. Three; it's Pyrrha Fucking Nikos! And finally four; he's a fuck-mothering vampire now!"

Again, Argent took a sip from his tea before shouting. "Why did you allow it?!"

"I taught him what was necessary and sent him off to Beacon. Besides, I couldn't exactly keep my eye on him at all times!" Before Anderson could continue on, something smashed against his face that he didn't bother dodging.

He brought his hand up to his face, feeling a warm liquid dripping down his face. He looked down, seeing shards laying down on the floor. Anderson spotted a handle, deducing that the teapot was thrown at him. Anderson was about to say something, but was interrupted by a chair being chucked at him.

The wooden furniture was reduced to nothing but splinters, all poking Anderson. Hell, it threw him off the recliner. Anderson groaned, picking himself up, before a thick book hit him square in the jaw. Anderson finally saw his assailant.

"Rosé! What the bloody fuck are you do-"

He didn't even get to finish as Rosé threw a basketball straight in the face. It bounced off and was caught by Argent, who placed it back, while sipping tea. Rosé looked to be the very definition of terrifying. Her hair was flowing, split into even parts that made it look like a tail and for some odd reason, a red shroud was covering her.

Rosé began to grab everything within her vicinity and threw it all at Anderson, who laid down helpless and could do nothing but take the onslaught. In the background, Argent merely watched and sipped at his tea, all the while catching every object that bounced back and placing them back to their original placing.

As much as he wanted to help out Anderson, he'd rather not risk his health in the crossfire and just went with being the caring husband that he is by cleaning up after Rosé.

Plus, he didn't want to sleep on the couch.

* * *

 **Beacon Academy**

Team RWBY and Team JNPR were walking up to Beacon's entrance, having just been dropped off by Alucard and Aphrodite. Roman and Neo remained with Integra, having decided to join Hellsing. The two teams stopped and took in the sight of the school.

"Man, it's been a while since we've last been here." commented Yang.

Blake rolled her eyes and stared at her partner. "We were only gone for about a week or two, Yang." Nonetheless, she smiled. "Even then, it's nice to see Beacon again."

Ruby nodded in agreement, her face brimming with excitement. "And tomorrow's the dance! Oh man I can't wait!"

"Looks like we'll be going dress shopping and date fishing." said Yang.

Team JNPR looked at their sister team and smirked. "Says you guys, but we've already got outfits and dates." boasted Nora.

Cue in Jaune and Ren wrapping an arm around their respective girlfriends, smug smirks on their face. Team RWBY huffed and turned the other cheek. As the eight of them were about to enter, a cough interrupted them.

"Pardon me, but don't all of you believe you're forgetting some things?"

Both teams turned, seeing Walter, standing in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by their luggage. The butler smiled and carried the bags with his wire, bringing them to each respective owner.

As they received their bags, Pyrrha couldn't help but ask her family's butler a question. "Not that it's great to see you Walter, but why are you here?"

The elder smiled and retracted his wires."Well, Ozpin personally requested that I'd be here in Vale to "help out". Sir Integra had agreed, and now, here I am."

"Uh, what exactly did Professor Ozpin wanted you to "help out" with?" asked Pyrrha.

Walter chuckled, bringing shivers down to everyone's spine. He looked at them all, a smirk on his face.

"Oh nothing really. He just asked me to be a Combat Instructor for a month."

Everyone paled, having already seen the butler's fighting skills. This served to make Walter chuckle even harder.

* * *

 **Grimm Lands**

Salem chuckled as she rewatched how the meeting went by. Major, Doktor, Arthur and Captain all stood behind her. "I must say Major, that went well." she praised

"'Went well?" asked Major, in a faux offended tone. "Mein Fuhrer, I was there! And much like our idiot of a former boss, I killed it."

The Grimm Queen smirked. "I'll have to agree. Now, the kingdoms will be always on alert, growing paranoid as the days will pass by. It'll only be a matter of time before one of my favorite creation is once again released into this world."

Major's glasses gleamed, his lips curled into an excited smirk. "Ah yes. Quite possibly, the strongest Grimm to exist, besides you, of course. But that's not the only zing~" The two of them walked up to the cliff side, overlooking the land, teeming with dozens of Grimm. "Soon enough, Alucard will die! And Remnant will be ours!"


	9. Prom Night

**Ooh boy, I** **'m back! And with a different excuse! As much as I want to blame school for making me prioritize my grade, I'm not. What I will blame is my interest in writing this starting to wane.**

 **Yep. You read that right. I am slowly starting to lose my want in writing this. Who knows? Maybe I** **'ll actually drop this out of nowhere and never return. Although, I wish that never happens.**

 **Enough chit chat. Read and Review!**

* * *

In the middle of the arena stood Walter. The butler had his hands behind his back, a smirk on his face. Surrounding him was Team CRDL, their weapons brandished and ready. A moment later, the buzzer rang off, which prompted Team CRDL to charge at Walter.

Cardin roared and charged at Walter, swinging his mace. The bespectacled man jumped back and dodge the larger blunt weapon. He flipped himself, dodging Sky's halberd

Russel charged at Walter, Dove right besides him. The two started slashing around their bladed weapons at Walter, who still hasn't acted against the students and was content in perfectly dodging every attack by either leaning back, side stepping or spinning around them.

Walter landed back on his feet and matrix dodged Cardin's swing, before kicking off the mace from Cardin's hand and did a series of spin kicks on Cardin's face, sending him skidding against the floor.

Sky roared and started swinging around his halberd, trying to get a hit on Walter, whom kept flipping out of the way from the blunt weapon's range. Walter slid across the floor, all four of the motley crew running at him.

"In all honesty, I expected better. They're not even formulating any sort of plan to catch me off guard or coordinate to get a hit on me. But at the very least, their persistence is a bit admirable."

Walter sighed. He ducked under Russel's slash strikes and kicked him on the chin, sending him flying. Quickly, he reflected Dove's attack, redirecting to Sky, their weapons clashing. Walter jumped kick Sky, before using him as a footstool to launch himself to Dove, kneeing him on the head.

Cardin groaned and picked himself up. He grabbed his mace and charged back at Walter. He raised it up, preparing to slam it down on Walter, but for some reason, struggled to do so. Walter chuckled. He raised his arm and flicked his fingers, something shining for a moment. Somehow, the team captain and his stooges found themselves separated from their weapons.

Before any of them could act, Walter buried his fist into Cardin's gut, the Winchester gasping at the lack of air. The butler smirked and spin kicked him away.

Russel, Dove and Sky snapped themselves out of their stupor and quickly headed for their weapons. Walter waggled his finger as if scolding a child and flung his arm to the right. The weapons flew off the ground and smacked into each respective owner's face.

Cardin groaned and shook his cheek. He rubbed his cheek and flinched at the stinging pain. He growled, grabbed his mace and charged once more at the butler. The former bully and brought down his over-sized weapon in an overhead strike. Walter did nothing of the sort to dodge the attack. He smirked and clenched his fist.

The mace came to a halt, an inch away from the former vampire hunter's face. "Goodness. Your mace is dull and a bit flaccid on the side. Might I recommend getting it hardened?" Before Cardin could refute, Walter launched Cardin's weapon away from his grip. He smirked and began his onslaught of punches and kicks on to the team leader.

Fortunately for Cardin, his team managed to retrieve their weapons and charged back at Walter. Walter withdrew from his assault and dashed out of the way, dodging their slashes yet again. He brought up his arms and crossed it over his chest, the three suddenly stopping in their tracks.

Walter chuckled and shook his head. "Goodness me. Getting stage fright in the middle of battle? How unfitting of Huntsmen." He faced Russel and Dove and gave them a bit of sage advice. "Those blade of yours need to be sharpened. They can't even cut through wires, let alone chip Aura!"

From behind, Cardin pounced, preparing to smash down his mace. Not even a second later, Walter brought up his left arm and flicked it in Cardin's direction. The Winchester felt something go in his armor, and was subsequently slammed down.

The former vampire hunter shook his head and sighed in disappointment. "Is that really the best you four can do? I must say, I'm quite disappointed."

As he said this, the buzzer rang off again. Goodwitch strode into the arena and faced Walter. "Thank you so much for volunteering in this evaluation match, Mr. Walter."

Walter smiled and bowed at the blonde professor, while Team CRDL picked themselves up and walked back up to their seats. "It was my pleasure, Professor Goodwitch. I admit, I haven't partaken in a fight in so long and I'm not as spry as I used to be."

"Nonetheless, you helped out with CRDL's evaluation, making my job easier to point out their very much obvious weaknesses." She took a look at her Scroll, tapping in a few inputs to check the time. "It seems we still have enough time for one more match. Any volunteers?"

Walter scoured the room, until his eyes fell upon Mercury. He noticed the facial similarities with a certain assassin he knew of that suddenly fell off the grid. He also recognized him as one of the spies sent by Salem, as identified by Torchwick. The butler smirked and brought Goodwitch's attention.

"If it's not much to ask, I want to fight that boy." Walter pointed right at Mercury, who blinked in surprise.

Goodwitch titled her head, eyebrow raised. "Are you sure about this decision, Mr. Walter?"

"Quite." he simply said, offering no other response.

Goodwitch nodded and called for Mercury to enter the arena. The silver-haired male's face scrunched up, trying to think of a reason why a Hellsing operative would want to fight him. He was, however, broken out of his think when the buzzer rang.

Mercury initiated the first move and charged at Walter. He jumped up, performing an overhead axe kick. Walter grunted and jumped away. Mercury frowned and quickly performed a back kick and a butterfly kick in quick succession, shooting out explosive rounds at the butler.

Walter ducked under the first one and then proceeded to flip over the next few shots with ease. He landed down and crossed his arms, giving Mercury a condescending smirk.

"Can't you take this seriously?!" Mercury growled and charged at Walter, proceeding to spam out bullet after bullet. The silver-ish gray-haired male kept on kicking, shooting out more explosive rounds.

Walter swerved around the bullets, still not putting in any sort of effort.

Mercury charged at Walter and initiated a flying kick, shooting out another explosive round towards the elderly man. Walter merely brought up his hand, his wires finally visible, clearly attached at his fingers. He let out a short chuckle and swung his arm upward, the wires easily slicing up the explosive round.

Mercury blinked in shocked, before recomposing himself and shooting out more at the butler. Walter raised up his other hand, waving it around wildly, bringing his wires to slash up all the rounds to nothing more but dust.

Figuring out that long-range wasn't working, Mercury switched to a more face-to-face approach. He charged at Walter, nimbly dodging the wires. The silver-haired male grunted as began his attack. Walter didn't put up too much effort as he blocked and parried most of Mercury's attacks.

Seeing an opening, Mercury went for a right hook. Unfortunately for him, Walter caught his fist. The butler stared at him menacingly, which served to make Mercury a bit unnerved. He yelped out in slight pain as Walter twisted his arm.

"Dear, oh dear. You're using too much hair gel. Might I recommend using hair relaxer instead?"

Mercury managed to break free from Walter's hold and went for a back kick. Walter crossed his arms over his chest and took the full-brunt of the shot. It pushed him back, but he flipped himself back into composure. Mercury quickly took the opportunity and repeatedly shot at the butler.

Walter jumped back, dancing around the bullets shot at him. He stopped and shot his wires at the fake student. Mercury clicked his tongue, trying to out-maneuver the wires with his agility, nimbleness and the recoil of his gun boots.

The spy landed and ran towards Walter. He jumped and prepared to do a butterfly kick, only for his boot to get tangled by Walter's wire. Mercury yelped as Walter started dragging and slamming him helplessly around the arena.

It only took him until his Aura finally lowered to bordering red to be released. Mercury gritted his teeth and quickly used his gun boots to land himself. The silver-ish gray-haired male looked up and could do nothing but stop in fear.

Surrounding him were wires, Walter's of course, and there was no room for escape. But of course, that's not what made him stop. It was the fact that his hair got nicked, the strands falling gently on the floor. Walter smirked evilly, his hands wide open, prepared to be clenched to deal the final blow.

"You're in over your heard, boy. While your father was busy changing you, I was already occupied with slaughtering the Grimm."

Once again, the buzzer rang off, signifying the end of the match. Walter shrugged and withdrew his wires, allowing Mercury some breathing room. He shakily stood up, his teeth clenched, his eyes a bit widened, looking a bit far off.

Goodwitch strode over and tapped a few inputs into her Scroll. "And that's the match. Once again, Mr. Walter, I thank you for displaying your fighting skills, albeit a in very brief match."

Walter merely smiled in gratitude at the compliment. "Like I've said, it's nothing, Professor Goodwitch. I'm happy to show these youngsters what they could possibly be once they've hit my age." The butler crossed his arms, his face in a contemplative look. "What do they call them? Ah! A Badass Gramps, if I remember correctly."

Goodwitch shook her head amusingly and faced the students. "Now, remember students, the dance is tonight to commemorate the start of Vytal Festival Tournament, which is tomorrow. I expect all of you to attend and have fun."

And with that, she dismissed the class. Emerald and Cinder walked up to Mercury, who was still gazing at the distance, murmuring something to himself. The femme fatale walked up to her male subordinate and smacked him across the back of his head, snapping him out of his daze.

Cinder placed a hand on her hip, her eyebrow quirked questioningly and her eyes narrowed down to a glare. "Care to explain your pitiful performance?"

Mercury rubbed the back of his head, reeling a bit from the unexpected pain. "...I almost died. I took him a bit seriously, but he wasn't even putting any sort of effort, he was just toying with me! The butler...dare I say, is on a whole other league beyond me!" He saw Cinder's glare and was quick to remedy the last part. "B-but I'm sure you can take him down, being the destined Fall Maiden, and all."

Cinder smiled in satisfaction and caressed Mercury's cheek for a moment. "Good boy."

* * *

 **Beacon Library**

Ruby groaned with a mixture of boredom and irritation as she slumped on the table. She, along with her team and JNPR, decided to hang out in the library to talk about the supposed virus download that will happen tonight.

But instead of doing that, Yang and Jaune were facing off each other in Duel Monsters, Blake was silently reading her book, Ren was playing with a sleeping Nora's hair, Weiss and Pyrrha were playing something called 'Expert Defense Lawyer'. She was left alone, and she berated herself for leaving her Remnant: The Game board back in their dorm.

So, she did the only thing she could think of doing: spectate one of the ongoing things.

 _"Hmmmm. I don't think a game based on being a lawyer could be fun. It'd be creepy if I just stared at Blake, or Ren playing with Nora's hair. I guess I'll just watch Yang and Jaune."_

Currently, Jaune had 1000 LP and one card, while Yang had four cards, and 3500 LP. The blonde smirked and sent one of Jaune's monsters in defense mode to the graveyard, leaving him with only one facedown monster left, and ended her turn.

Yang crossed her arms and looked at Jaune with a smug look. "Sorry Vampire-Boy, but there's no way you can win, so draw your last pathetic card and let's end this!"

Jaune shrugged and shook his head slowly, as if patronizing his fellow blonde. "My deck has no pathetic cards, Yang. I believe that the next card I draw will end this duel." He did just as that. Jaune drew his card and took a peek. He smirked and played it. "First, I play Cards of Virtue, allowing me to draw until I have six cards."

Jaune drew five more cards and added them to his hand. He assessed his cards and his smirked widen. "Finally, the cavalry's here. First, I use Amalgamation on my three White Eyes Blue Dragons to get White Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

The blonde's eyes widened in shock as Jaune sent his three monster cards to the graveyard and summoned the fusion monster from his extra deck. But Yang wasn't easily deterred and tried to play it off.

"Ha! Your monster might be strong enough to beat my Shade Sorcerer but unless you have Separation, you can't finish me off! The most you can do is reduce my LP to 1500!"

Much to her shock, Jaune's smirk changed into a grin, showing her his two remaining cards. One was Amalgamation, the other was a man in a black suit of armor, wielding a sword.

"I activate Amalgamation once again, and I fuse my White Eyes Ultimate Dragon with Black Luster Soldier and summon Supreme Dragon Master!"

At that moment, Yang stared doing her best imitation of a fish out of water. Ruby tried her best to stifle down her giggles, until it all escaped her lips. Jaune placed down the new fusion summon with a confident grin on his face. Once again, Yang tried to play it off.

"Okay, that's a badass monster card, but at most, my LP will drop down to 1000!"

Jaune waggled his finger at Yang, as if scolding a child. "You assume too early, Yang." He took hold of his facedown monster and flipped it. "I flip summon my Sorceress of Faith and activate her ability! I retrieve Monster Reborn within my graveyard and use it to bring back White Eyes Ultimate Dragon! There you go, Yang. I've drawn my last pathetic card."

Yang's eyes twitched in irritation as Jaune placed down his fusion summon. After a few moment, she slumped down and sighed in defeat.

"Man, you're good. I guess it's nice to lose to an awesome fusion cards like Supreme Dragon Master and Ultimate Dragon." Yang beamed and shook Jaune's hand. "Great game, Vampire Boy."

Jaune nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's been a while since I've played Duel Monsters. Glad I to see I still got it." He looked at his deck. "It's nice to see the Heart of the Cards is still with me."

"Really Vampire Boy? You believe in that crap?"

Jaune shrugged and then motioned to his cards. "Well, you DID just see it first-hand. I drew the card I needed to beat you. Kinda like how the protagonist does it in the anime."

Ruby raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile on her face. "So what? You have protagonist powers or something?"

"Please! If anyone has protagonist powers, it's you, Rubes. You're fifteen years old and you're already in Beacon." Jaune oh so graciously pointed out. He looked at his girlfriend and decided to watch her play.

Pyrrha and Weiss were already almost finished, with Pyrrha winning. The redhead smirked and pointed at her opponent. "OBJECTION! The evidence you've just presented clearly contradicts the autopsy report AND the previous testimony of the witness!"

"NGOOOOOH!" Weiss flinched and slouched forward, her face in a pained expression as she planted her knuckles on the desk.

Pyrrha wasn't done and continued her attack. "Plus, we've already established that my client couldn't have killed the victim, because the one who actually killed him, was the butler!"

Weiss once again flinched and proceeded to overreact at how she lost the trial. The three spectators sweat dropped and would've laughed, but they deemed it too weird.

A couple of minutes passed and the two teams were finally talking about Cinder and her goons.

"So, who would've taught THEY would be the spies?" asked Yang. "I mean, they don't look...evil."

"Never judge a book by its cover." said Blake. "That's always been a code in the White Fang. I guess now it makes sense why they started working with a human."

Ren nodded in agreement. "Someone working under the ruler of the Grimm could prove beneficial, yet also suicidal at the same time. After all, Grimm are but creatures who rely only on instincts, and wisdom once they've grown old enough."

"Which now begs the question: What does Cinder want that would make her initiate an invasion against Beacon?" posed Jaune. "Besides possibly gaining a nesting ground for Grimm, there's nothing that valuable in here."

"You may never know." replied Pyrrha. "With people like her, it's probably because she's doing it to prove a point, she's doing it just because she can, or it's just all part of a grander scheme."

"Like what? A Grimm the size of Godzilla?" Yang suggested, a shit-eating grin on her face.

Weiss rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Please! If there WERE such a thing, I'm pretty sure it would've been common knowledge. And really, a Godzilla Grimm? That's too far-fetched and Godzilla is just a movie character! Next thing you'll say, there's a Grimm Dragon. Yeah right."

"Psshhh. Lighten up Ice Queen."

Weiss growled, but nonetheless, kept quiet. The eight of them sat silently, pondering on why a human would possibly want to do something so drastic. Deciding the silence was not okay, Ruby brought up another topic. "So! You guys ready for the dance?"

Yang smirked and bumped her fists together. "Oh yeah! I'm gonna be turning heads tonight."

Weiss and Blake merely nodded at their leader's question, a smile on their face.

"Oh we're MORE than ready!" spoke up Nora. "We already got everything we need. Now the only thing we need to is have a good time!"

The others stood up, fist pumping and cheering along with Nora.

Good thing the librarian wasn't there, or else they would've been kicked out.

They lowered their arms and sat back down, going back to their previous activities. Ruby looked at Pyrrha and asked, "By the way, what happened to Torchwick and his partner?"

Pyrrha rubbed her chin, trying to remember what became of them. "Well..."

* * *

 **Mistral - Hellsing Headquarters**

"DODGE!"

A small explosion occurred that would've sent Roman and Neo flying had they not dodged at the last moment. The two no longer wore their usual outfits and opted to instead wear the uniforms of Hellsing, but with their respective logos intertwined with Hellsing's insignia.

Roman peeked through the corner of the wall, seeing if their instructor was in sight. Once he was in the clear, he pulled back and sighed, slumping against the wall. He looked at his lover/partner in-crime and asked her a question.

"You ever regret about this decision of throwing away the life of crime?"

Neo shrugged and pulled out one of her signs to respond. **"Sure beats working for that Cinder bitch. Ugh. I hate how she delegated me to stealing those delivery trucks filled with Orlay! As if anyone can be tricked by that wrinkly skin!"**

Roman chuckled and looked at the ice-cream lady with a proud look. "You can say that again. Honestly, only an idiot would be fooled of her actual age."

"If the two of you have enough time to be talking, then you have enough time to DOOOOODGE!"

Roman and Neo paled as Seras stood in front of them, with Pip and his men right besides her. Pip and his crew all held standard Dust Rifle Carbines, while Seras wielded her quite large Harkannons, which also shoots out anti-tank rifles.

The blonde vampiress grinned and took aim at the two. "Alright you shits. Eat lead!"

* * *

"I've no idea. I didn't get the chance to ask father what became of them."

Ruby just nodded, and kept on watching Jaune and Yang's rematch, with the latter on the verge of losing again.

"Ah come on! You have The Beast of Apollo too?! That's just unfair, Vampire-Boy!"

* * *

 **Time Skip to Night - The Dance**

Everything was lively, buzzing with energy. Every student was having fun, either talking with their friend, dancing with a partner, or just drinking some of the punch. The faculty was scattered around, having fun on their own accord.

Professor Port and Pro- *cough* Doctor Oobleck were having a conversation, wherein in the latter was a telling a joke that the former laughed at. Professor Goodwitch was dancing with General Ironwood, the two of them having smiles on their faces.

Ozpin merely stood on the balcony, having opted to instead keep a close on his students, rather than have fun himself. And there was also the fact that the night of the dance is also the time Cinder would attempt to infect the CCT with the virus. And he'd rather not risk anything.

Normally, he'd sit back and let things play out until he found an opportunity to strike. But this, is something he couldn't just let flow. He needed to act.

Ruby stared at the dancing crowd with no emotion, having become bored with ten minutes in. She was by the punch bowl, steadily drinking a vast amount of punch. She decided to just stand there in the corner and make herself scarce. Yang was off dancing with Blake and, surprisingly enough, Sun. Weiss was nowhere to be seen. Team JNPR situated themselves in one of the tables, chatting about some stuff.

Yet again, she sighed, having nothing to do. Even now, she was still the socially awkward, weapon-loving girl that at the very beginning of the semester.

"Hiding by the punch bowl, I see."

Ruby looked to her left, seeing Walter walk up to her. The butler had decided to changed out of his normal attire and wore a simple black tuxedo with violet streamlines. The Rosette gave him a small wave, before going back to her drink. Walter chuckled and stood by Ruby, watching at the ongoing dance.

Walter disliked the awkwardness Ruby was radiating and decided to remedy it. "Based on what I've read, you're quite the Huntress, aren't you? But unfortunately, you can't dedicate your entire life in just fighting." A somber smile appeared on Walter's lips, a bit of regret on his face. "Trust me, I know that all too personally."

This got Ruby's attention, her focus now on Walter. The butler lost his somber smile and smirked, thinking at how his plan was working. "It's not every day that friends all get too gather around and have fun. With how the world is now, who's to say that events such as these can happen again? So as I say, go ahead, live your life earnestly and have fun."

Ruby lowered her glass from her lips, thinking over what she just heard. Walter smiled in satisfaction and was about to head out, until he saw someone he didn't expect to see. They had quite the petite and slender stature, looking quite pale with black straight hair draping over they're shoulders, wearing an all white outfit, with a few exceptions.

The person looked around, their shoulder shaking, which indicated that they were amused by something. Walter's eyes narrowed and went to confront them.

"If you'll excuse me, Ms. Rose, I have someone I need to talk to."

Ruby watched as Walter walked away. She shrugged and did the same, sipping more from her glass.

* * *

The person went in the kitchen, seeing a dozen of punch bowls all perfectly lined up, already filled with punch. They chuckled maniacally and pulled out a box filled with bottles. Bottles of vodka, to be exact. They grinned, shadow-like hands sprouting out of his body and grabbing the vodka bottles. It uncorked all of it and started pouring out the contents into the bowls.

Soon enough, every bottle was empty down to the last drop. They nodded in satisfaction and disposed of the bottles, while his other hands went to work in mixing up the liquids.

"Might I inquire as to what the hell you are doing, Alucard?"

The now identified Alucard blinked and spun around, coming face to face with Walter, who had a look of curiosity and a bit of anger. Alucard had a sheepish look on his face at getting caught red-handed, rubbing the back of his head subconsciously.

"Fancy meeting you here, Walter." he said, his voice still the same as with his regular form.

Walter sighed and put on his most intimidating face possibly and stared at his long-time comrade/friend. "Just cut to the chase and tell me what you're doing here and why you're spiking the punch?"

Alucard stood up, not even looking the slightest of being guilty. In fact, he looked quite proud. "Oh I'm just doing these kids a favor. Don't give me that look, Walter. You know for a fact that one of the students here would've eventually spiked the punch. I just did it first."

Before the butler could even retort, Goodwitch strode into the kitchen and focused on the punch bowl. She used her Semblance to pick up the bowls and promptly left the room without a word.

Walter looked horrified, while Alucard looked extremely giddy. The former vampire hunter looked at his comrade, the horror still present. "You DO realize that Ms. Pyrrha will also get to drink from that bowl, don't you?"

The giddiness from his face completely dropped, switched with a look of horrific realization. Alucard's eyes widened through extreme proportion, looking even paler than usual as he uttered two simple words to describe his reaction.

"Oh FUUUUUUUCK!"

Alucard quickly rushed out of the kitchen to start his search for Pyrrha to prevent her from drinking the punch he had just spiked. _"Oh dear fucking Oum! Please, don't let her drink any of that punch!"_

* * *

Ruby sighed as she walked back to the punch bowl. She had just parted with Weiss, who still felt a bit grumpy about being rejected by Neptune. The young leader was about to grab the ladle to pour herself a cup, till she smelled the punch, a distinct yet familiar scent coming from it.

She put it closer to her nose, trying to remember where she had smelled something like this, before it finally clicked. She pulled the ladle away from her and gagged, poking out her tongue.

"Ugh. It's that juice Uncle Qrow drinks from that bottle he keeps drinking. Or Yang after a night in the town. And speaking of my sister."

Ruby looked to the right, seeing Yang, her faced flushed red like a tomato, talking to an equally red Blake and Sun.

"...I think I need some air."

"Might I join you, friend Ruby?"

Ruby looked to her left, seeing Penny standing right there. She smiled and nodded. "Sure! I was getting kind of lonely, actually."

Penny beamed brightly. She grabbed Ruby and immediately ran out of the room.

Weiss walked up to the punch bowl, needing something sweet to drink after that sour rejection she got. Not even bothering to look at the bowl, she just grabbed the ladle and poured herself up a cup. Weiss quickly downed the drink and she sighed in satisfaction. She smacked her lips, liking the taste and so poured herself a couple of more.

"That was exactly what I need. Although it was a bit too...good~"

Weiss slurred the last part, her face slowly starting to flush. The Schnee Heiress started to feel tipsy. Her face just contorted into a happy look, a giggle escaping from her lips. Weiss couldn't stop giggling, which strangely sounds like a high schoolgirl's.

"Hello, madame. I'm surprised to see a lady here unaccompanied. Especially one as radiant as yourself..."

Weiss faced whoever was talking to her and did a double take. There stood someone who had the exact same hair as Blake, but with Ruby's hair colors, although the red was more of Pyrrha's shade. Their eyes were the same as Yang, a warm purple. They weren't wearing a semi-formal outfit, but rather Beacon's school uniform for boys. What's more, there seemed to be bat-like wings and a tail sprouting out from behind them.

But she didn't care, the alcohol getting to her mind. So, she did the most unexpected thing ever, giggle some more and flirt with the newcomer.

"Thank you. You are quite gorgeous yourself, he-he-he-he-heh. You know, you kinda look like...a mixture of four of my female friends, it's so amazing I don't even know how to compliment you further. By the way, you're not jesting, are you?"

The person smiled and placed his arm across his chest. "I've no reason to lie. Truly, your beauty is unmatched. Your eyes, they remind me of beautiful crystals. I am stunned that you have no one beside you."

Once again, Weiss giggled. She started to sway before she stumbled tight into the stranger's chest. "He-he-he-heh, oops." Weiss did nothing to get herself off their chest, and nuzzled into it further, the stranger's scent invading her nose, "Ooooh. Strawberries and spices~ What a lovely aroma~"

The stranger looked down on Weiss, smiling down on her, looking a bit concerned yet ecstatic as well. "It looks like you've drank more than you should, madame. Perhaps I should escort you to your room?"

"A gentleman~. Hehee." Weiss jumped into the stranger's arms, whom caught her in a bridal carry. "Come on, let's get to know each other better~"

The stranger had no complaints and went off to carry Weiss to her dorm. Unbeknownst to the Schnee, no one noticed her getting carried or the stranger carrying her. It was like they weren't there.

* * *

 _"Where is she? Where is she?!"_ thought Alucard frantically as he searched for his daughter. He had combed through the entire area, yet found no sign of Pyrrha anywhere. A thought came to the vampire as he skid to a stop. " _I'm an idiot. I could_ _ha_ _ve just sensed her out!"_

Alucard took a deep breath and sighed deeply, focusing in heightening his senses. He blocked his out the noise, the scent and the image of the people around him, focusing only on their Aura. Immediately, Alucard was attracted to a particular Aura, colored blood red, with a hint of yellow in it. The Vampire King simply ran up to the Aura's location, phasing through everything that was in his way.

Alucard opened his eyes, seeing Team JNPR sipping punch. Although he was already pale, Alucard could almost feel his face be drained by what little color it had. _"No! Was I too late? Fucking dammit Oum! You had one job!"_

His face was washed with relief as he heard what Ren said.

"Well, that's the last of punch we'll be drinking. Someone spiked it, if it wasn't already obvious."

Jaune looked around, seeing a lot of school mates already acting out of their drunken instincts. He just shook his head, feeling sorry for the horrible hangover they'll be getting. "I'm surprised the teachers weren't able to stop it."

Nora stood up, a devious smirk on her face. "I'm gonna go grab a few and get ourselves revved up!"

Ren looked at his girlfriend and bemusedly shook his head. "Nora, no. The last time you drank alcohol, we both ended waking up in a crater. And we weren't even together-together that time."

The hammer maiden's smirk grew wider as she further leaned in on Ren, showing off her cleavage to him. Ren tried his very best to maintain his calm and deadpan poker face, but the cleavage presented to him made it very hard.

A minute later, Ren broke. He grabbed Nora by the waist, carried her and went to the punch bowl, leaving Jaune and Pyrrha alone. The couple looked at each other and laughed at their teammates' antics.

"Well, I guess that leaves us all alone." said Pyrrha. She undid the knot on her hair, letting it fall down on to her shoulders. She looked at Jaune, giving him a smoldering look, her eyes radiating off a lustful aura. "How about you and I drink some of that punch and get wild?"

As Jaune was about to agree, Alucard rushed in and sat right in front of them. He glared at the two and didn't even bother masking his voice. "Absolutely NOT young lady!"

Mistress and servant blinked in surprise, immediately recognizing the voice. "Father?!" shouted Pyrrha quietly.

Alucard crossed his arms, maintaining his glare at the two. "The two of you won't be drinking any alcohol on my watch." He propped his feet onto the table and crossed his arms to emphasize his point.

Jaune looked absolutely confused, not knowing how to make heads or tails on the situation, while Pyrrha looked hurt.

"Why? Why are you and Mother so insistent in ruining my relationship with Jaune? I don't get it, why?!"

Alucard flinched at the look Pyrrha was giving him. One could clearly see the tears swelling up, threatening to burst and leak down her cheek. Alucard's eyes was shadowed by his form's bangs, regret filling it up.

 _"Yes...why indeed? What exactly is the reason Aphrodite and I never told you of you true heritage?"_

With determination, Alucard stood up and motioned for the two to follow him. Jaune and Pyrrha looked each other, the former nodding at the latter, as if telling her to go through with it. The two of them followed Alucard, where he led them to Beacon's roof top.

Alucard shifted his form, going back to his normal appearance. He pocketed his hands, letting the cool breeze gently brush against him. His daughter and her servant soon came. Alucard sighed, knowing what must be done. He faced Pyrrha, looking at her with utmost seriousness.

"First of all, I want to make something clear. What I am about to tell you...does not leave here. Understand?" Once they nodded, he continued. Alucard stared at the broken moon, looking very regretful. "To be truthful, Aphrodite and I have been keep a secret from you at the very start. One that no one, not even my Master nor Walter knows. We kept it hidden, buried where it would never be uncovered."

He stopped for a moment, using the time of silence to look at the two teenagers.

"Aphrodite was never a human, nor was she also a vampire. The truth is...Aphrodite is a succubus."

Alucard had already anticipated their shock. Their eyes had widened, their mouths hung open in a gasp. The raw emotion emanating from their faces was so thick, one could slather it all over themselves like butter.

"Yes. I am not the only supernatural entity that walks on this world. The stories I've told you how I met your mother were all fabricated. In reality, I met her, as a prisoner of war. Back then, before even the kingdoms existed, royalty ruled among the various scattered lands. After I've converted myself into a vampire, there in an abandoned dungeon, I discovered her."

Much to the surprise of Jaune and Pyrrha, the area around them blurred and changed to that of a dungeon, showing Alucard, kneeling down to look at an imprisoned Aphrodite. The redhead was trapped in what seemed to be amber, her face in contorted in shock.

"According to her, the queen, who also her former beloved, had sealed her in amber when a religious royal family had discovered their home and started massacring their kind. As far as her knowledge stretches, she is the only succubus left that is still alive. Although she was all alone, I saw determination spark in her eyes, wanting to keep on living. That was what made me her love."

"But I don't understand...why are you two so intent in preventing me and Jaune from, you know? Fornicating?"

The Count looked deeply troubled, which served to make Jaune and Pyrrha more worried than they should be.

"It was something terrifying Aphrodite told me once we've tied the knot. When a succubus get pregnant right before she reaches the Peak of Maturity, which is pretty much the age you're allowed to drink legally, they lose all of their powers. Not just their innate Succubus ones, but every other unrelated ability in their disposal. In your case, your vampire powers, your Aura AND your Semblance."

Pyrrha looked absolutely horrified at the thought of becoming powerless. Jaune had the same reaction, although he had already felt such a thing, back then when he first came to Beacon.

"If that's the case," spoke up Jaune. "then why didn't you tell her? If you told her of her heritage from the start, it would've been much easier for the two of you!" Jaune grew a bit fierce when he spoke. It wasn't because he kept getting cock-blocked, but because of the way Alucard and Aphrodite acted. It was just stupid, withholding information like that.

Alucard frowned, his mind drifting back to a memory he rather be wiped away from his mind. But no matter what he did, he couldn't remove. "I'd...rather not say. Our reasoning, let's just say we were justified and keep it that way."

Silence loomed over the three of them, no one bothering to speak. Alucard let his back faced the two of them and finally broke the awkward silence. "Just...be careful you two. Go on, and have fun. No one's stopping you now."

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other, looking a bit bummed out at what they've just learned. They linked each other's arms and walked back to the dance. Once they were gone, Alucard released a sigh he had been holding and looked back up at the broken moon.

* * *

Ozpin had yet to stray his eyes from his students, even though he already knew most of them were mostly safe, except if some of the more angry drunks start to act up. He wouldn't rest, not until the dance is over. The false maiden could try to make initiate her plans any moment and he couldn't afford to get distra-

"Howdy!"

Ozpin turned around to face a chocolate-skinned beauty, wearing the outfit of a typical delivery service company. She was carrying something, around the size of a small crate. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but Ozpin wasn't going to take any sort of risk.

"Why hello. Who are you? And how did you get here?"

"I'm the candygram delivery woman...and I'm the candygram delivery woman."

The bespectacled man blinked in surprise. "There are still people who uses candygram?"

The delivery woman shrugged. "It's a niche market."

Ozpin just nodded slowly and asked who the delivery is for.

"It's for a, 'Mr. Ozpin.'"

"That would be me. Although, where did it come from?"

Again, the delivery woman shrugged. "Anonymous sender. Besides, the postage was already paid."

Ozpin sighed, clearly aggravated. "Let's get this over with. Where do I sign?"

The woman took out a clipboard and a pen, pointing at every space that needed to be signed. "Just here, here, initials here and that'll be all."

Ozpin took the pen, writing down his signature on the required spaces and accepted the package. The delivery woman saluted him and walked off. The bespectacled man looked at the package with clear paranoia. He inspected top to the bottom, making sure that there was nothing that will kill him. After making sure, he carefully opened up the package and saw...

"A note?"

Ozpin plucked out the note with caution and read it to himself. "The cake is a lie." He titled his head, clearly confused. "What is this? Is it a reference or something? I don't get it."

While he was distracted, the delivery woman, who was actually clearly Emerald, gave Cinder the signal to move out. The femme fatale smirked and ran out of the ballroom discreetly, quickly changing into her disguise.

* * *

Cinder ducked behind a row of bushes, narrowing her eyes as she watched the guard look away from the stairs. She quickly took the opportunity and made a mad dash to get to the other side. However, the guard noticed this. He started slowly walked to investigate.

But Cinder was faster, already right behind the soldier. She chopped his neck, rendering him unconscious. Cinder caught the soldier and dragged him away, right before throwing him into the shrubbery.

"Hey!"

The masked female spun around and was met with yet another guard, his gun out and aimed right at her. Cinder gritted her teeth and rushed at the man. The guard pulled the trigger three times, yet each one was dodged. Cinder swiped the gun away and elbowed the main straight in the gut, right before drop kicking him, knocking the poor guy out.

She smirked and entered the tower. Cinder strolled in, four guards patrolling the section. One of them quickly noticed and slowly reached for his weapon.

"What're you doing here? No one's allowed in this area!"

The female smirked and rushed at the guard. She dodged all of his shots and smacked him across the face and kicked another charging soldier, making him stumble down. She faced the soldier she was holding on and quickly knocked him out with a swift uppercut.

The other two soldiers pulled out stun batons and charged right at her. Cinder's clothing glowed as the Fire Dust embedded in it gathered and materialized into twin sabers. She blocked all of their blows and incapacitated one of them rather quickly, right before dealing with the other one and delivered a final blow to his head that knocked him out.

The elevator doors open, revealing two more soldiers, whom quickly spotted the unconscious bodies of their comrades right behind Cinder. Luckily, the managed to recompose themselves and shot right at Cinder.

She grunted as her clothing lit up yet again, this time, using Dust to block the guards' shots. Cinder manipulated the Fire Dust within her clothing and threw two fireballs right at the soldiers, slamming them into the elevator wall, knocking them out.

Cinder nodded in satisfaction and strolled right up into the elevator. A minute later, a smirking Cinder walked out of the elevator as soon as it reached the top floor, examining one of the Scrolls she just snatched. She sat right on the main terminal and used the stolen Scroll to quickly access the main frame. She smirked and took out her own Scroll and began transferring a program into the system.

Cinder resisted the urge to laugh victoriously, and waited until a caw caught her attention. She looked to her right, seeing a crow looking right at her with a weird look. There was nothing weird about the crow, other than the fact it managed to get in without her noticing it.

"Uh, hello?"

The crow titled its head and cawed yet again. It fluttered right up to Cinder, getting a little too close for comfort. Cinder tried to inch away from the crow, only for it to hop closer. This would repeat on for a few more times, until Cinder straights up decides to just roast the crow.

"That's it!"

Cinder's clothing lit up yet again. She manipulated another fireball into her hands and threw it right at the bird. The crow just cawed and flew out of the fireball's path. Cinder gathered the embedded dust and shaped it into a bow, arrows accompanying it. She pulled back the string and fired.

The crow didn't even seem to notice the arrows and just flew towards Cinder, dodging the projectiles without even trying. The bird landed right on Cinder's shoulder and it nuzzled her cheeks.

Cinder growled. She picked up the crow and threw it out of the window. She turned to the monitors, only for her jaws to drop as she saw one of her arrows had accidentally pierced it. The femme fatale took a step back, swearing that she felt her heart skip a beat, until she heard a computerized voice speak.

 **"TRANSFER COMPLETE."**

Cinder sighed in relief and took out her Scroll, making her escape.

Outside of the tower, Winter Schnee was certainly surprised when a crow dropped from the sky out of nowhere and into her arms. She had come to the CCT to demand a status report from the soldiers patrolling there, but this crow demanded her priority. She looked around, making sure no one was there, and proceeded to nuzzle the crow.


	10. Chibi Filler - NC

**Sorry about this late update, but I got held up by an entrance exam I took for one of the colleges I applied in and I couldn** **'t exactly write a proper chapter during that. So, instead, have this collection of drabbles I made. Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

The majority of Team RWBY, mostly Ruby, pouted as Alucard led them and Team JNPR to a camping site. The Rosette voiced out her displeasure and looked at her surroundings with a frown.

"Can someone tell me why we're camping? On Halloween?"

Alucard was happy to oblige. "Because one; trick-or-treating is overrated as FUCK and you all need to get out more! And two; camping is a better experiencing. Plus, survival skills!"

Alucard dropped his equipment and went for the path to the forest. "You kids set up the tents. I'm going to get us some firewood."

With that, he walked out. Ruby, still with a deadpan look, faced her friends and asked them a question. "Anyone else regret joining?"

"Yep."

"Nope."

Were the collective responses. The former was uttered by Yang, Nora, and surprisingly enough, Weiss. While the latter was said by Blake, Ren, Pyrrha and Jaune. When she heard the last four answer negatively, Ruby looked shock.

"What?! But why?"

Jaune shrugged, adjusting the rope to hold down his and Pyrrha's tent. "I dunno, Rubes Trick-or-treating IS kinda overrated. It's the same old, same old. We dress up, get free candy, get sugar rush, sugar crash and get sick. Camping sounds pretty refreshing, honestly."

Ruby huffed and decided not to say more, instead helping out Yang set up their tents. About an hour later, Alucard came back, hoarding a crap-ton of logs with a wagon...he somehow acquired.

Alucard broke apart some of the logs and tossed them into the campfire. He took out...a shard of Fire Dust and used it like a lighter, tossing it with the wood to start up the fire. Alucard grinned as the fire started to roar, the heat becoming brighter.

"Well, time to break out the marshmallows!"

Rummaging through his pack, Alucard took out the bags filled with fluffy goodness and tossed one each to everyone. Followed by, of course, sticks being stabbing the ground in front of them. The CrimsonFuckr paid no heed to the glares and focused more on roasting his marshmallows.

However, as soon as he placed it near the flame, his marshmallows caught on fire. hH blinked rapidly before blowing it out quite strongly...which led to the melted gooey remains splattering against Blake's face.

The Cat Faunus did not look amuse as she attempted to wipe off the marshmallow on her face. Key word being attempted.

As soon as she placed her hand on her face, it immediately got stuck. No matter how hard she tried to pry it off, it just wouldn't. Alucard quirked an eyebrow, a grin on his face.

"You like you're in desperate need of, a hand."

Alucard winked and clicked his fingers, making finger guns. This earned him a boo from Nora, a chuckle from Yang, and a sigh of disappointment from Pyrrha.

* * *

Anderson looks at the screen before slashing it horizontally.

* * *

The Judas Priest stood at a roof top. He narrowed his eyes, watching a certain fifteen year old girl cross the road. When he was told of her birthday, he grew suspicious of her true behavior and had sought to banish her to hell, believing she's an evil spirit.

He had only one goal for today...he must purify her. He will do what he must to achieve his goal.

Once she had crossed the sidewalk, Anderson sprung into action. He dropped down in front of Ruby and brought up his arms terrifyingly. Ruby shrieked in fear, only to be silence...with a fucking bucket filled with Holy Water.

Ruby looked really confused, the fear dissolving pretty quickly. She looked at herself, dripping wet with church liquid. Before she could utter a word, she met face-to-face with Anderson, who, for some reason, was glaring at her.

"...you live another day, unholy girl."

Anderson quickly disappeared in a flutter of holy scriptures, leaving a confuzzled and wet Ruby to stand alone, uttering one word.

"What?"

Later, Ruby was happily eating strawberry sundaes, unaware of Anderson looming right behind her. He brought up something rectangular and silently chuckled. As Ruby was about to swallow another spoonful of ice cream, Anderson slapped her with the rectangular object, which was the Bible, smacking her off the rock she was sitting.

When nothing happened, Anderson blinked.

"Well...shit." He looked at the groaning Ruby, shaking her head dizzily. "I've done goofed."

* * *

Alucard grins at the screen, right before turning himself into a flurry of bats, completely covering the entire room.

* * *

Team RWBY plus Alucard stood on top of a stage, with a pumpkin right in front of then. They were about to partake in a pumpkin carving contest. Team JNPR was situated on a table, supposedly acting as judges. Pyrrha took out a timer and turned it on, prompting the five to get to work.

Yang grinned and activated Ember Celica. She tossed her pumpkin into the air and started barraging it. Blake was carefully carving her pumpkin with Gambol Shroud, all of her focus on the orange vegetable.

Weiss was looking something up in her Scroll, apparently trying to find a good design. Once she found one, she went to work by putting it on her Glyph to apply it perfectly on her pumpkin. Ruby was doing it the old-fashioned way. With a chisel and a pick.

Alucard, however, was merely staring at his pumpkin...and caressing it like a lover, which drew disgusted looks from Team JNPR. Once the timer was down to ten seconds, Alucard brought out Casull and shot a single bullet at the pumpkin.

The timer started to ring, prompting everyone to raise their hands to stop. Jaune cleared his throat asked for Yang to show them her pumpkin. She smirked and showed it off...to reveal a crudely made tree.

Team JNPR deadpanned and brought up score cards. A four, a three, a five and a one. Yang's eyes flashed red as her hair lit up. Pyrrha and Jaune quirked an eyebrow, challenging Yang with their own red eyes. The blonde backed off but pouted.

Weiss went next, showing one of those intricate patterns you see on the internet. Team JNPR then gave their score; a seven, a six, a nine and an eight. Weiss bowed as a courtesy and stepped back.

Blake stepped up, displaying her pumpkin carving. It was the four symbol of each respective member of JNPR. With that, all four of them gave her an eight.

Ruby clapped giddily as she was up next. She proudly presented her pumpkin carving, which was a carving of Zwei's behind. Pyrrha and Jaune looked thoughtful, right before giving Ruby an 8.5. Ren and Nora looked at the carving with amazement and nodded with respect, both of them giving it a 9.5.

And now came Alucard. He had finished his pumpkin carving in only ten seconds, and to say the least, they were curious as to what he had created. The No Life King smirked and turned his pumpkin around, revealing a carving of his mugshot. Alucard's smirk turned into a grin, seeing the look of disbelief on everyone's face.

"One shot was all I needed."

And with that, they gave him a perfect score.

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha happily skip in the distance, holding hands.

* * *

Team RWBY, JNPR and Alucard sat around a campfire, while Alucard strummed his guitar. It wasn't long until he remembered something. A smirk slowly crept up his face. He pulled out a piece of chalk and used it to draw a perfect circle around him.

Of course, everyone took notice and raised an eyebrow, with Pyrrha being the one to voice out their one collective thought.

"Father, what on Remnant are you doing?"

Alucard shrugged and answered. "Oh, you know? Making sure I don't get mauled by a Sea Bear Grimm."

"Sea Bear Grimm?" all eight of them collectively asked.

The CrimsonFuckr grinned and started strumming his guitar. "I'd love to tell you what's a Sea Bear Grimm, but I can't just deny this opportunity. So, instead of explaining to you what the fuck's a Sea Bear Grimm, I'm gonna sing the Campfire Song Song."

Alucard cleared his throat and started singing.

"Let's gather around the campfire and sing a campfire song. Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song. And if you don't think that we can sing it faster then you're wrong~ But it'll help if you just sing along!"

Everyone couldn't help but smile and added to the beat. "Bum. Bum. Bum..."

Alucard started strumming and singing at an increased pace. " C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song. C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song. And if you don't think that we can sing it faster than you're wrong. But it'll help if you just sing along~ C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song, everyone!"

"SONG! C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G!" singed along everyone, excluding a certain someone.

Alucard took notice of this and went up to the guy and pointed, still strumming. "Ren...good!" He stopped his fast pace and went rock-n-roll style. "It'll help! It'll help~ If you just sing along!" The No Life King started smashing his guitar on the ground, right before lighting it up with a piece of Fire Dust. Once he's done he punched his fist into the air and cheered. "Oh yeah!"

The eight of them cheered, Alucard giving a mock bow at their applause. But that was soon cut off by a rather loud roar. Alucard blinked.

"Oh. Those DO exist." He faced the two teams and gave them sage advice. "I'd draw up a circle around myself, if I were you."

Seeing Alucard look dead serious, all of them took his advice and quickly drew a circle around them. Out of the forest came out a rather large...sea bear, but Grimmified. It was basically the head of a bear with the body of a giant fish, with the appearance of a Grimm. The two teams gaped in shock, seeing that a Sea Bear Grimm was actually a thing.

The somehow-still alive sea creature looked around, trying to find its prey. Alucard chuckled and drew out the Jackal from his person. He cocked it and took aim.

"Tonight, we're having sea bear soup."

And he pulled the trigger, shooting the thing straight in the forehead, instantly killing it. The Sea Bear Grimm fell down, its tongue lying out. Alucard stood up from his seat and went to cook the Grimm, much to the RWBY's and NR's disgust. Pyrrha and Jaune, however, actually looked intrigued.

"Wonder what that would taste like?"

* * *

Roman dropped down, looking at his left then right, and proceeded to run off-screen.

* * *

The reformed criminal paced back and forth, his brows scrunched up, as if thinking something. Neo quirked an eyebrow and pulled out her sign.

 **"What's the matter, Roman?"**

Torchwick spun around and faced his adorable ice cream partner and...got into her face.

"Oh I'll tell you what's the matter!" The orange-haired male pointed at the large vault door with his cane. "I just found out we have a Candy Vault and that NO ONE, besides Sir Integra, the Nikos family and Walter, are allowed to go in! Not even Seras or Pip are allowed in!"

Neo frowned and turned her sign around. **"That DOES sound problematic."** She threw it away and pulled out another. **"What are you gonna do about it?"**

Roman grinned and rubbed his hands deviously. "Oh I'll tell you! We're gonna break in and steal every candy we can get!"

The petite lady's frown turned upside down, and so did her sign. **"I'm in!"**

Later, Roman and Neo were dressed up in their old criminal attires, a grin plastered on their faces. They saw a vent and entered through it. They eventually stumbled upon the vent that leads into the inside of the Candy Vault, revealing a dozens upon dozens of bowls filled with candies.

Roman nodded at Neo, who nodded back. She wrapped around a bungee rope around him, securely. The dapper man took off the vent screen and dropped down right in between four bowls. He rubbed his hands deviously, chuckling, and prepared to grab a bowl.

However...

"Ahem."

Torchwick looked up, seeing Integra standing right in front of him, one of her eyebrows raised. Roman chuckled sheepishly and tugged at the rope, signaling Neo to pull him back up.

Integra watched as Roman was pulled up. As soon as he was out of sight, she took a piece of butterscotch candy and popped it into her mouth.

"Looks like I'll have to actually establish a security system in this place."

* * *

Integra huffed and flicked her cigarette into the screen, burning it and moving onto the next scene.

* * *

Team RWBY were chatting amicably, not having a care for their surrounding. A man in a creepy, green mask slowly crept up behind them, his shoulders shaking. He remained unnoticed and screamed loudly, "OOGA BOOGA BOOGA!" scaring Team RWBY out of their seats.

The man laughed at their reactions and pulled off his mask, revealing Alucard.

"Y-you should see the look on your faces! Hah-ha ha ha ha ha ha! You four were SO frightened!"

Alucard fell onto the floor, clutching his stomach as he kept on laughing. Team RWBY sweat dropped and just walked away.

A bit later on, Team JNPR were happily snacking on some desserts by the near-by forest. Yet again, Alucard was in a mask. This time, in a Godzilla mask. The vampire smirked underneath the cover and silently chuckled.

He rubbed his hands deviously and roared out loudly. Team JNPR jumped out of their seats, losing every color in their faces as they screamed in surprise. They drew out their weapons and prepared to fire, until they saw Alucard rolling on the floor, laughing.

Pyrrha's eye twitched in complete annoyance. She spun around, huffed and stomped off, her friends following.

Hours later, RWBY and JNPR were discussing something at the library. Alucard, now masked with a Freddy Kreuger mask, complete with the man's iconic outfit and clawed glove. As he was about to jump on the two teams prepared to scream, until he got wrapped around by metal hoops, tightly constricting around Alucard.

"Oh shit."

The two teams hovered over the constricted Alucard, a grin on their faces. Pyrrha grabbed the Freddy mask and pulled it off...revealing Anderson.

"Wait, what?!" were the collective reactions of everyone.

Jaune rapidly blinked and shook his head. "No no. That doesn't make any lick of sense!"

He took hold of his "uncle's" cheek and pulled it up, revealing yet another mask. Under said mask was, "Old Man Jenkins?!"

The old man had a huge frown on his face as he sighed...for a full minute. Blake quirked an eyebrow, noticing how an area Jenkins's neck seemed ruffle. He grabbed his hair and pulled it back, revealing it was another mask...again!

Ren threw his hands up, clearly aggravated and angry.

"Of course! Of FUCKING course he'd have a Dinkelberg mask! Pyrrha, no offense, but your father has some serious issues."

The redhead shrugged, looking indifferent. "Well, that's what someone gets for living a couple of centuries ago...or was it millennium?"

This time, Yang pulled off the mask, to be reveal someone unexpected yet should've been expected at the same time.

"You thought it was Alucard, but it was me, Dio!"

Yang couldn't help but chuckle. "How'd a JoJo reference end up here?"

Weiss pushed the blonde away and pulled the mask off...revealing a crown. An insect one.

"Oooh. Keep this mask on. It's PERFECT as it is!"

Ruby titled her head, her eyes a bit closed. "Wait...Perfect Cell? What reference is this fr-oh! TFS reference, duh!"

She pulled the mask off...revealing a certain justice detective.

"Why hello, young lady! I am Detective Bobby Fullbright! The heroic detective who defends our good citizens from evil! The champion of justice who comes running whenever you're in need! Oh, and my catchphrase is, 'in justice we trust!"

Ren slumped down, getting flashbacks from playing Dual Destinies. "Yeah no. I ain't going through this shit again." He pulled the mask off, finally revealing a grinning Alucard.

"Heh-he he he he he he he he. That was fun."

However, Nora wasn't convinced. "I'm not listening to him. It's obvious he's an impostor!" She took hold of his face and ripped it off. In her hand...was a bloodied face. "See?! It's my arch-nemesis, Senor Papyrus!"

Alucard did not look amused. His skull dripping with fresh blood. "...well, that just fucking happened."

The other seven had their jaws dropped, not believing that, one; Alucard can still talk. Two; they're looking at a skull. What the f-


	11. Open the Game

**Kept you waiting, huh? Sorry about that. This time, I have no excuse to give about this being late for two weeks. I** **'m also trying to curve down the sizes of the chapter, so any unnecessary filler doesn't start popping up.**

 **Without further ado, please, proceed to reading** **! Oh, and review too, while you** **'re at it.**

* * *

Ozpin smirked as Ironwood walked in with a grin. Beacon's headmaster leaned back and sipped from his mug. "I presume it went well?"

Ironwood shook his head in amusement and walked up to his friend. "You could say that. Salem's pet has indeed uploaded a virus into the CCT. My men are already working on rooting it out and changing the firewall to a more secure one."

The bespectacled man chuckled and stood up from his chair. He faced the view behind him, a smile appearing on his face. Ozpin watched as the arena to be used for the Vytal Festival Tournament came into view. However, his smile then soon turned into a frown.

"Now that we have eliminated a problem, perhaps now's the time to discuss of what will become of Amber. Have you managed to develop a healing pod?"

Ironwood frowned, shaking his head negatively. "Unfortunately, no. My men in the R&D was never able to fully implement Aura into the stasis pods. Amber, unfortunately, will be stuck as she is, unless we can somehow fully restore her powers."

Ozpin sighed, placing his arms around his back. "A shame then." A grim look appeared on the man's face as she continued speaking. "If no other choice is to present itself, then we must relieve her of her pain."

The Atlesian General nodded in agreement. But he didn't like it one bit.

* * *

Weiss groaned as she slowly sat up, holding her head gingerly. She tried to fight off the pain and figure out what happened last night "What happened?" She blinked, feeling a bit chilly. Weiss looked down, discovering herself to be naked. She quickly grabbed the on her and covered herself. "Why am I naked?! Where am I?!"

"In your dorm room, of course."

Weiss yelped, hearing the unfamiliar voice. She turned around and saw a guy with feminine looks. She blinked a few times, until she recognized him. "Wait, weren't you-"

"The guy you met at the dance last night and was the one to escort you back to the dorm? Why yes, I was. I am Damien."

Before Weiss could utter out another word, she groaned out loud and held her head, feeling as if it was being mercilessly pounded by a jackhammer. Damien frowned in concern and handed her a cup of coffee and some aspirin.

Weiss graciously accepted it. She popped the medicine in to her mouth and downed it with the bitter drink. She signed in relief, feeling a bit alleviated of the pain.

"Thank you." she said.

Damien smiled brightly and closed his eyes. "You're most welcome."

The two of them remained silent for a few, awkward minutes. Eventually, Weiss broke it, albeit stuttering out her words. "D-did we-?"

"Have sex like a bunch of cute little rabbits in heat? Yes. Multiple times, in fact. You were the quite the wild one, Snow Diamond."

Weiss looked away, blushing at both the fact she just had drunken sex and for being complimented by a stranger.

"Y-you could've stopped me!"

Damien looked at her, a sober smile on his face. "As much as I wanted to try, I simply couldn't." The effeminate man gestured to his extra parts. "These are not Faunus features, if you were wondering. You see, I'm an incubus."

"A-a-an incubus? Isn't that basically the male version of a succubus?"

Damien nodded. "Indeed. Even if I had wanted to stop you, my basic instincts prevented me from doing so. The only thing it wanted me to do was ravage your beautiful body."

Once again, Weiss blushed furiously and tried to wrapped the blanket around her. Damien chuckled at this action, finding it cute.

"That's basically one of the reason why I picked you. Underneath your supposed ice cold exterior, was a warm and normal girl who only wanted to be better appreciated." He inched closer to the Schnee and cupped one of her cheeks, giving her a melting smile. "And your Aura, it's so soothing and cool. It reminds me of my mother."

Weiss blinked confusingly. "Your... mother? That reminds me. Are you... the only one left?"

Damien let go of Weiss's cheek, a forlorn look on his face as he looked down in remembrance. "As far as I know, yes. When I first woke up, I was all alone. I tried to sense out any succubus or incubus. But I couldn't find any. I...had to fend for myself, honing my powers on my own, wandering around, trying to find a place to call home. My mother... I miss her. Her vibrant red hair, her soft, emerald eyes, and her motherly looks."

As Damien went on to describe his mother, Weiss felt her shock grow and grow as she realized who it was Damien was describing. _"Oh...dear Oum! Is his mother who I think it is?!"_

The incubus slightly quirked an eyebrow, noticing Weiss looked to be troubled. "Is something wrong?"

Weiss jumped a bit, before shaking her head vehemently. "N-no! I'm j-just fine! Nothing to worry about, he-heh."

"If you say so." said Damien. He stood up and went to enter the bathroom. Before he entered, he told Weiss to get herself dressed "Your clothes are neatly folded on the couch, along with some clean undergarments. Call me when you're done making yourself even more exquisite, Snow Diamond."

Weiss blushed, as Damien entered the bathroom to give her some privacy. Weiss gently got off from the bed, careful to keep the blanket wrapped around her lithe body. She saw the clothes and saw it was her regular outfit, However, the undergarments were far from normal. It was a pure white, lacy bra, accompanied with a lacy thong. Weiss seemed to grow redder as the seconds passed by, staring at the two pieces of clothing.

"You know, you should probably get dressed if you don't want to end up getting sick."

Weiss lightly shrieked and spun around, facing Aphrodite, who had come out of nowhere.

"Mrs. Nikos!" she squeaked out. "W-what are you doing here?"

The mother of Pyrrha gently smiled, before gesturing to Weiss to dress up and spoke of her reason. "My innate senses were going haywire. It was telling me of another succubus, or perhaps an incubus, was near by. That, and my maternal ones were going off as well, for some odd reason."

As she finished, Weiss had already dressed herself. Damien then picked this exact moment to phase through the wall and walk out of the bathroom.

"Are you dressed, my beautiful snow dia-"

Aphrodite's eyes widened, her jaw dropping at the sight of the incubus. "Damien?!"

"M-mother?!"

The succubus slowly walked up to the incubus, right before entrapping him in a tight hug, tears running down her cheeks, a smile forming on her lips. "Oh my beautiful, baby boy. You're alive!"

Damien, however, while still joyful that he had found his mother, was very much confuse on one thing.

"How did we never sense one another after so long?"

"It's possible, because of what happened to me." Aphrodite broke away from the hug, and explained whatever to her when she woke up.

"Wait, you're...betrothed to the Vampire King and… I have a half-sister?"

Alucard burst through the door, his eyes slightly wide and his lips curled into a grin. "I have a step-son?!"

Pyrrha followed, more on shock and surprised, with a hint of excitement. "I have a half-brother?"

"Wait, I'm related to Pyrrha Nikos?! ...oh."

Pyrrha managed to get the implication from her now revealed half-brother's reaction. She sighed and turned to her classmate with a deadpan look. "We are going to need so much therapy. Weiss, what's the name of your therapist and can he accommodate a family?"

"...How did you-?"

Alucard vampire rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Please! Anyone could practically see your daddy issues all the way from Mistral. That, and the fact you wouldn't stop calling my newly found stepson, "Daddy"."

Weiss meeped as she tried her best to hide her face, feeling very much embarrassed.

* * *

 **The Following Day - Amity Colosseum**

Jaune took in a huge breath, trying to regulate his rapid beating heart as he and his team awaited to be called in for their match against Team NDGO. Jaune felt a hand on his shoulder, making him smile as he already knew who it belonged to.

Jaune looked to his right, meeting with Pyrrha's gentle smile. The blond vampire smiled back and stood straight. He took one more look at himself, still finding it weird that he was no longer wearing his armor. He wore a black leather coat decorated with white feather that reached down to his legs, the edges ripped with red tones. Underneath, he wore a Gakuran-like outfit, with black pants, some parts of his legs covered in armor. He also wore ankle-high boots and white gloves.

Around his waist was a leather belt to hold Nigrum Mors. On his left arm, his shield was strapped and deactivated.

Ren had also opted to switch wardrobes. He now wore a gray, long-sleeved, collared shirt, over an emerald, sleeveless tailcoat with his emblem on the back, with red, tasseled ropes over the hips, pants that got tighter below the knees, and calf-high open-toed sandals. His hair was no longer tied up in a ponytail and instead wore it down. Even then, he still hid StormFlower in his sleeves.

Nora, not one to be outdone, joined in. She retained her gloves and is wearing a white top with a heart cut-out that has a diagonal cut, a short, detached white sleeve on her left arm. Over the shirt was a zippered navy blue bomber jacket with pink stripes along the sleeves and her emblem on the back. Her skirt is slightly longer with pleats creating some flair and two wide belt loops at the waist to match her belt. She wears black, skintight leggings, just an inch shorter above her calf-length boots. Magnhild rested on her shoulders, gleefully waiting for the match to start.

By appearance and clothing, Pyrrha had no such changes. Pyrrha was tempted to have a wardrobe change as well, but decided to put it off until the finals.

Team JNPR heard their professors calling out their names, prompting them to smirk in excitement. The four of them nodded at each other and walked out of the waiting room and into the arena. Immediately, they were met with the roaring applause of the entire audience.

They paid no heed to them and instead focused on their opponents, the all-female team; NDGO. Much to Ren and Jaune's confused shock, three out of four females giggled and either winked or blew kisses directly at the two of them, only the black-schemed member not doing anything, and was instead looking quite pale.

The two looked at each other and instinctively gulped. They turned to face their respective lover, and found them with two different reactions.

Nora was smiling sweetly. A bit TOO sweetly, her eyes twitching. Pyrrha had a blank look, although Jaune knew better. On the inside, a strong storm was brewing, deadly and frightening. Around the two teams, a holographic roulette appeared and began to spun. It wasn't long until it stopped upon two symbols; ocean and mountain

The two halves of the arena around them shifted that into the two respective symbols, setting the stage for the fight.

In the audience seats, RWBY were sat at the very front, ready to cheer on their friends. Mercury and Emerald were at the other side, the former munching on a large bucket of popcorn. "I wonder who's gonna win?" he asked sarcastically.

Emerald rolled her eyes and grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bucket. "It's already been decided as soon as everyone heard the match up."

Cinder strolled and sat right behind them. Cinder smirked and took a few unpopped kernels. "Even then, it doesn't make it less fun to watch." She clenched her hand, glowing dimly, before opening up her hand, showing the kernels have been popped and she ate it.

Jaune and his team narrowed their eyes as Port started to countdown. NDGO smirked and brandished their weapons. Port finished and the match began, quickly prompting Jaune to shout an order.

"Ren, make us fade!"

The other male of JNPR obliged. He ran up to the front and threw some things down. Before anyone could react, it blew up, kicking up a thick cloud of smoke, blinding NDGO. Dew narrowed her eyes and slammed down her spear. It glowed brightly and created a large dust devil, blowing away the smoke. Much to her and her team's shock, JNPR was nowhere to be seen.

Emerald blinked in surprise at JNPR's disappearance. "Impossible. There's no way they could've moved that fast!"

Mercury kept on munching on his popcorn and made a comment. "Think one of them has an illusion Semblance like that Neo chick?"

"Keep your eyes peeled! They could be anywhere at any time!" instructed Nebula.

The all-female team looked around, staying alert to wherever they could be.

Nebula sensed something and shot an arrow to her six. But it hit nothing. Octavia felt the wind shift and spun around to swing her sword, only to end up with a hammer to the face, courtesy from Nora. The hammer maiden flipped back before Octavia could retaliate and slammed Magnhild down, forcing some boulders to rise from the ground. She spun around and smacked them all right towards NDGO.

The four quickly dodged the rocky projectiles, Nebula opening fire at Nora. Ren dropped down from the mountain above and deflected the arrows with nothing but kicks. Gwen took this time to throw some knives, all the while performing some ballet-like motions to give her knives momentum.

Ren merely smirked. StormFlower popped into his hands and used its blade to block the oncoming knives. As soon as none were left, Ren shifted his focus and started shooting. Octavia swung her kris, releasing a fiery shock-wave towards the couple.

Nora roared and slammed her hammer down, this time, forcing a large wall-like rock to erect itself and block the projectile. Nebula's crossbow shifted into a sword and she jumped over the wall and went to swing down her blade, only for it to clash with another.

Nebula blinked, seeing not Nora or Ren, but Jaune. The team leader smirked and pulled back Nigrum Mors, before swinging it upwards, sending Nebula a few feet away from him. He spun it a couple of times and made a come hither motion. The leader of NDGO grinned and pounced.

Meanwhile, Octavia was preoccupied by Nora while Ren went after Dew, leaving Gwen all alone. The black-haired female gulped, realizing who wasn't currently fighting any of her teammates. She gathered her knives and alerted herself to any possible danger that might happen.

Unknown to her, said danger was just right behind her.

Pyrrha leaned in forward, directly at her ear. The redhead allowed a grin on her lips as she whispered at Gwen.

"Peek-a-boo!"

Gwen yelped and instinctively threw a knife. Pyrrha easily deflected it with her shield and jabbed at Gwen. She easily dodged them, swiftly moving like a ballet dance. The redhead gained an idea and flipped away from her opponent. Gwen then took the opportunity and threw some knives at Pyrrha, her spinning adding some momentum to it.

Pyrrha landed and raised her shield and reflected the knives back to sender. Gwen's eyes widened and she ducked under her knives, which impaled straight onto a nearby tree. Pyrrha twirled Milo around, right before throwing it at Gwen. Before the spear could hit, Octavia jumped to her teammate's rescue and deflected, causing the weapon to impale on the ground.

Gwen nodded in gratitude at Octavia as she retrieved her knives. The NDGO redhead brought up her kris and swung it at Pyrrha, releasing a fiery shock-wave at Pyrrha. She grinned and jumped over it and threw Akuou at her fellow redhead. The shield struck her straight on the side of the head, which then bounced off and went back to Pyrrha, who promptly kicked it to send it smacking to Octavia's face.

Pyrrha landed down and caught her shield. She heard a whizzing sound and promptly raised her shield, blocking more of Gwen's knives. However, this times, she noticed a hue of red inside of the blades. Pyrrha blinked and quickly jumped away, a small explosion kicking up as soon as she got away.

More knives came at Pyrrha, forcing her to keep dodging. Pyrrha landed on a rock formation and thrust her arm out as the knives were about to hit her. A black outline enshrouded the knives and stopped mid-air, confusing everyone, barring her team and friends.

 **"It seems Ms. Nikos has finally revealed her Semblance!"** commented Port.

Oobleck nodded in agreement and expanded upon the topic. **"Quite indeed! With a majority of the weapons used by man today, a Semblance like polarity can make quick work of the weapon! It is truly one of the most versatile Semblances out there and suffice to say, Ms. Darcy is screwed."**

Pyrrha clenched her hand and flicked it to the left. However, the knives weren't the only thing caught in Pyrrha's control. It also included Gwen's skirt. So when she redirected knives, she had also accidentally caused the skirt to move. And promptly, the piece of clothing was ripped off, which revealed her panties.

A pin could be heard dropped as the entire arena became silent. Gwen meeped and tried her best to cover herself up, prompting Pyrrha to yell out, "I'm sorry!"

Nora then quickly used to their advantage and smacked Gwen by the side, sending her out of the ring. Gwen's image darkened, signifying that she was out

 **"Oooh! What an embarrassing result for Gwen Darcy! Getting her skirt ripped off and being knocked out of the ring!"**

Oobleck adjusted his glasses as he kept on commentating at his usual speed. **"Right you are, Peter. Although both teams have yet to suffer from major Aura loss, Team NDGO could still turn the tides in their favor despite their number disadvantage."**

Jaune was locked in a clash with Nebula, a look of complete seriousness on his face. He pushed back Nebula and barraged her with a succession of strikes, right before ending it with an upward swing, sending her flying into the water. As he was about to take another step, he shifted his next movement into dodge roll, narrowly avoiding the fiery shock-wave.

Jaune raised and activated his shield, blocking Octavia's kick. He pushed her back and started striking her. Octavia raised her kris and clashed blades with Jaune. The blond vampire pulled back and shifted Nigrum Mors into its shotgun form, and quickly aimed it at the redhead 's face, and opened fire.

Octavia's eyes widened as she was pushed back by the pure force of the blast, slamming her onto a rock formation. Jaune looked to his right, seeing Ren still engaged in a fight with Dew.

Ren blocked Dew's spear with StormFlower's blade, using it to disarm her and lodged said weapon onto the ground. Ren placed away StormFlower and surprised his opponent with a hand-to-hand fight.

The two seemed to fight on equal terms, nullifying each other's blows. Ren saw an opening and quickly went for it. He punched her on the side, then followed it up with a kick to the shoulder, staggering Dew. Ren wasn't done as he barraged her whole chest area, hitting her acupuncture points to make her lose Aura quicker. He pulled back his hand and ended it with a palm to her stomach, sending her slamming into a tree, a branch falling down on her head.

On the screen, Dew's Aura levels dropped down, until it reached to 10, her image darkening.

 **"And now Team NDGO is only left with two members. Can they somehow manage to pull off a victory?"**

 **"It'll take a miracle for that to happen, Peter."**

Octavia and Nebula stood side-by-side, gritting their teeth as JNPR surrounded them.

Jaune twirled his blade around, looking at the two with indifference. "Shall we show off one of our new team attacks?" The others had no objections, prompting Jaune to shout. "Electromagnetism!"

Pyrrha placed her hand on Nora's shoulder and activated her Semblance. The area around the hammer maiden began to shift, a few crackles of electricity jolted around her. Nora grinned and gripped her hammer tightly, feeling herself be empowered. She dashed off in a blur, giving Nebula and Octavia no time to react. Nora roared and slammed Magnhild at the two, sending them off the ring and into the barrier.

The two softly groaned as they slowly fell down, their images on the board darkening. Jaune sighed, smiling as his team was announced as the winners. Nora quickly engulfed them in a victory hug, the three of them laughing as they reciprocated it.

Cinder narrowed her eyes as she munched on another handful of popcorn. "So, Pyrrha Nikos's Semblance is polarity."

"I get it." said Mercury. "She must make some slight adjustments to her opponent's weapons, but not enough to broadcast it publicly, making it seem like she's invincible."

The false maiden grinned, watching Team JNPR walk back to the locker room with interest. "How intriguing."

* * *

 **Later - In Vale**

"You guys were SO amazing!" complimented Ruby.

Team RWBY and JNPR were walking by the set-up stalls in Vale as they awaited for the former's match to begin. Jaune shrugged and sheepishly smiled.

"Thanks, Rubes. But I honestly didn't expect the match to be a curbstomp. I thought we'd get more of a challenge."

Weiss rolled her eyes as she said, "Well, it's to be expected. We were given upgrades, and you know what happened during our break."

No one disagreed with Weiss's sentiments. As they were about to take another step, they heard the speakers calling out for Team RWBY. Yang groaned out loud, complaining.

"Ah come on! We were just about to start hanging out!"

Blake closed her book and looked at her teammates. "No sense in dallying around. Let's go."

JNPR was about to follow after them, until they heard Pyrrha's stomach growling. The redhead chuckled sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head. "Heh heh. Sorry. But looks like we won't be able to cheer you guys on."

Ruby smiled and nodded. "It's alright. Wish us luck!" She turned and ran for the air docks, her team following suit.

Leaving the four of them alone, Jaune faced his friends and asked, "Well, me and Pyr are gonna eat. What about you guys?"

Ren scoured the stalls and booths as he answered, "We'll probably go wander around for a bit. Maybe play a few of game booths set up."

Nora's eyes widened in jubilation as she jumped onto Ren's back. "Ooh! Speaking of game booths, I know of one that has a Grimm Sloth plushy as a prize!" She patted her boyfriend on the head, pointing at a random direction. "Come on, Renny! Before someone else manages to win that plushy!"

Ren shook his head in amusement at his girlfriend's antic. Nonetheless, he did as she said. Now, it was just Jaune and Pyrrha. The blond Arc smiled, taking his mistress's hand in his.

"Well then, shall we, milady?"

Pyrrha chuckled and lightly his arm. "You're such a dork."

Jaune smiled and pulled her a bit closer, whispering into her ear. "Yes, but I'm your dork." He pulled back and kissed her forehead. With that, the two of them set off to find something to eat.

Unbeknownst to them, Alucard and Aphrodite were also near-by, having just walk pass by them. Of course, the Vampire King and Queen were in different outfits, as to not be recognized. Alucard still wore his coat, albeit draped over his shoulder. He was wearing a black muscle shirt with a bloodied cross design. Black leather pants and boots. While Aphrodite was wearing simple rustic clothing.

Like their daughter and her boyfriend, they were also on a date. Alucard had his arm slung over Aphrodite, who was happily eating some cotton candy. Normally, the would be at the mansion, happily rutting like rabbits, but right now, they preferred to get out and have some regular fun.

Alucard blinked, feeling Aphrodite tug at him. He found her pointing at one of the game booths, a look of pure joy on her face.

"Alu, look! A Grimm Sloth plushy! And there's only one left!" The succubus faced her husband, doing her best take of the puppy eye look. "Can you PLEASE win it for me?"

The Vampire King stared at his beloved's eyes for a full minute, before chuckling and pecking her cheek. "But of course. Anything for you, beloved."

Alucard walked up to the booth and paid the stall owner the required Lien to play. The owner handed him three balls, giving out the instruction on how to play. Alucard didn't bother listening and grabbed a ball, already aware that he's the scamming-type of person. He cocked back his hand and threw the ball at the stacked bottles, causing it all to fall down.

The stall owner gaped in shock, while Alucard looked impressed at himself. He crossed his arms and nodded at the sloth plushy. "I'll be taking that Grimm plushy."

The stall owner dumbly nodded and handed it to Aphrodite. She immediately grabbed it and squealed, rapidly thanking her husband, all the while engulfing him in a tight embrace. Alucard merely chuckled and reciprocated the hug. He looked yonder and his face shifted into a wistful look.

There he saw Jaune and Pyrrha, sitting on a picnic table, the former feeding the latter pieces of chocolate cake. Alucard couldn't help but smile in nostalgia, remembering how he once did the same to Pyrrha in a similar setting when she was but five years old. However, his smile immediately turned into a frown, as that memory was also when the incident happened.

Aphrodite immediately noticed her husband tense up. She broke away from the hug to look at him in concern. "Alu, is something wrong?"

"No." he said after hesitating for a few minutes. "Everything's just alright. No need to be afraid."

However, Aphrodite was not convinced. She turned around and saw Jaune and Pyrrha. Immediately, she understood.

"Are you still scared for Pyrrha? That something might happen to her?"

Alucard sighed in defeat, muttering how Aphrodite knew him well. In response, he just nodded. Aphrodite placed away the Grimm Sloth plushy in her hammer space and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"You yourself told me, that we can trust Jaune. He will protect Pyrrha when we're not able to. He'll be there for her, to take care of her."

"I know. But, it's so hard to let her go. To think, she's becoming an adult. Our baby girl, all grown-up and embracing her roots." Alucard clenched his fist and stared at the chatting couple. "I only hope that I can fulfill my promise to her."

* * *

 _ **Thirteen Years Ago**_

 _"Papa?"_

 _Alucard lifted up the newspaper, seeing his four-year old daughter standing in front of him. He immediately grew worried once he saw her eyes a bit teary, accompanied by her sniffling and tight hold on her stuffed teddy bear. Alucard gently grabbed her by the sides and placed her on his lap._

 _"What's wrong, baby girl? Did you see a monster under your bed?"_

 _Pyrrha kept sniffling, but tried her best to wipe away her tears._

 _"I had a bad dream. That you were leaving me and_ _M_ _ama all alone. Papa was just standing there, then he went poof. Mama kept crying, because y-you never came back. Y-you're not gonna actually leave us, are you_ _P_ _apa?"_

 _Her tears swelled up further as she started crying. Alucard's paternal instincts kicked into overdrive. He wrapped Pyrrha into an embrace, rubbing her back gently as he comforted her._

 _"Of course not, my little princess. That's never going to happen. You two are the most important people to me. Papa won't leave you or_ _M_ _ama. Papa will always be by your side, and will always be there for you."_

 _Pyrrha stifled her tears, trying to wipe them away. "P-promise?"_

 _Alucard gently smiled, placing his forehead onto his daughter's. "Promise. And when the time comes, I'll walk you down the aisle when you meet your Prince Charming."_

 _The little redhead had finally wiped away her tears and jubilantly smiled at her father. She held out her pinky, which Alucard took with his own. Pyrrha then started to sing._

 _"Cross my heart, hope to die, eat a thousand needles if I lie. Pinkie Promise Song!"_

 _Alucard blinked before chuckling. "Well now. Are you trying to scare your_ _P_ _apa?"_

 _Pyrrha giggled. "Of course not! Papa's never scared of anything. So I better not catch you lying, okay_ _P_ _apa?"_

 _He didn't even have to hesitate, his response practically automatic._

 _"Don't worry, I'll never lie to you, my little princess."_

* * *

Alucard sighed. He had been lying to her all this time by never telling her of what had happened back then. Aphrodite looked at her husband, a smile on her face. "So that's why I didn't find her in her bed all those years ago. She was with her papa."

"Yes. She got too tired to go back to her room, and she instead slept on my lap." Alucard then grinned, taking out his Scroll. "Now that I think about it, I actually took some pictures."

"Ooh! Come on, show it to me!"

Alucard chuckled, pulling up the gallery and presented the various pictures of Pyrrha back when she was four years old.


	12. The Game Continues

**Read and review.**

* * *

Yang roared and kept on blasting away with Ember Celica. Arslan dodged away from all the kinetic blasts and dashed forward, engaging in a hand-to-hand combat with Yang.

Blake took notice of her partner's agreement. However, her path was barred by Reese. The skater smirked and attacked Blake. The cat Faunus was forced onto the defensive, and was kept occupied.

"Hello! It seems that we have another astonishing bout ahead of us! Wouldn't you agree, Professor?" commentated Port.

Oobleck looked at his colleague with a hint of annoyance that he got his title incorrect. Again. "Doctor." he corrected on impulse, right before nodding with a smile. "And yes Peter, I think it's safe to say this match may be the closest we've seen of the four-on-four round of the tournament!"

"For those of you just now joining us, welcome to the Vytal Festival Tournament, broadcasted live from the Amity Colosseum!" announced Port as he gestured to the general area.

For the sake of the people who had just started watching, they gave them a refresher on how the entire tournament worked.

"Now, let's get back to the match between Team RWBY of Beacon, and Team ABRN, of Haven." announced Port.

Reese got onto her hover board and kicked it right at Blake, whom parried it upwards with Gambol Shroud. Reese grinned as it came back to her and punched it, sending it flying back at Blake.

Blake kicked it away, before it came back to Reese, like she was controlling it to make it come back. Blake quickly charged in to launch a fury of attacks, once she saw the chance, using her Semblance to add more hits while duel wielding Gambol Shroud, both its blade and its sheath. Reese brought up her hover board and used it as a shield.

The skater parried the first slash, before overpowering the second slash, causing Blake to stumble back. Capitalizing on the opportunity, Reese did a few back flips before landing on her hover board. She hovered forward with the intent on bashing Blake with her board. Unbeknownst to her, Blake had a hidden smirk.

Reese jumped into the air with her board, doing an ollie, all the while flipping and spinning her board, similar to a helicopter rotor. Blake dashed back and activated her Semblance in conjunction with some Ice Dust, allowing the Shadow to take the hit. Blake quickly struck with a double upward slash, causing Reese to fly back, her board splitting in half.

Reese grinned as her board's two halves transformed into dual revolvers. She grabbed them and showed off her acrobatic skills and control of her own body while spinning in the air, and started firing at Blake.

Blake deflected all of the shots, making the skater frown. Unfortunately for Reese, she didn't plan out her landing strategy and promptly forgot that she was fighting on an icy terrain. She landed on her feet and immediately slipped right onto her collarbone. Reese hissed in pain and grabbed the area where it hurt on instinct. Blake could only wince in sympathy.

Sun, who was in the gallery, winced as well. "Oof. That's gonna leave a mark."

Yang gave a battle cry as dived down on Arslan, forcing her back. Yang dashed in and slugged Arslan twice, right before doing a roundhouse kick. Arslan ducked under it while trying to retaliate, missing as well. The two began trading blows, easily countering and canceling out each others moves. The two went for another punch. Both punches collided into each other and resulted into a small shock wave.

The two were forced back from the clash, slamming their hands down to stop themselves from further skidding back. Yang tried to take advantage of the situation with a double crescent kick.

Arslan dodged the attack before shooting out her rope dart, latching it on to Yang's foot. Arslan pulled on the rope, making Yang lose her balance. Capitalizing on this, Arslan kicked Yang right in the stomach, shooting her all the way to the ice terrain.

Yang managed to recover and stabilize herself, albeit slipping a bit due to the slippery floor. She looked up to see Arslan coming right at her. Yang crossed her arms together on instinct and took the hit. Unfortunately, the punch exerted more force than expected, and she slid right onto the ice floor on her back.

Nadir, who was a standing on an ice platform with a clueless expression, turned around and prepared to shoot Yang. The ice behind him blew up, sending him forward a bit. He looked down and saw his lower body was covered in a block of ice, and his weapon just in front of it. He whimpered, fully knowing that he was vulnerable and an easy target.

Ruby, who was at the other side of the ice terrain, looked up from her scope and grinned. "Got your back!" she called out.

"But who's got yours?" taunted right behind her.

Ruby spun around to see Bolin, the last member of Team ABRN, twirling his staff and went into an attacking stance. Ruby frowned, when a black snowflake glyph appeared on Bolin's left. He looked at it in surprise, unable to react on time when Weiss skated out of nowhere and kicked him through it, sending him out into the lava terrain.

"My BFF!" cheered Ruby.

"No." deadpanned Weiss. However, the small smile on her face said otherwise.

Ruby did a fist pump as she whispered something to herself, before she and her partner ran up to face Bolin.

Bolin struggled to stand, using his staff as support. He blinked, noticing a white glyph right in front of him. Before he could further react, Weiss dashed right passed him, and struck him across the chest. Weiss flipped over him to attack from above, but Bolin managed to block that and pushed the Schnee heiress back,

Weiss landed, and cast another glyph behind her. Ruby came running in used the Glyph to launch herself into the air. The Rosette spun around before slamming her weapon down at Bolin, whom responded in kind by blocking it with his staff. The ground below them shook the impact. Ruby gave a cute growl at him before pulling the trigger, catching Bolin off guard, stumbling back into the ground while Ruby landed right next to Weiss.

Bolin got back up, taking a quick peek at his teammates, causing Ruby to do the same. Bolin took advantage of this and dashed forward. Weiss summoned ice shards to rain down on him, but Bolin rolled out of the way and went right past Weiss. Ruby slashed at the male, only for Bolin to flip out of harm's way, landing behind her and continued on running.

Ruby blinked in surprise, not knowing what Bolin was planning.

Bolin stopped at a nearby a Fire Dust crystal deposit and sliced a off a piece. He spotted Reese and got her attention. "Reese! Catch!" and he threw the Dust right at his skater teammate.

Reese caught it and immediately slammed it right into her hover board. Blake looked at this new development with interest, quirking an eyebrow. Reese winked at her before quickly hovering her towards Nadir, melting away his icy trap. The pink-haired male cheered at his teammate and grabbed his weapon, re-entering the fray.

Reese charged at Blake and jumped into the air and slammed down her board. Blake blocked it, but was unprepared for the sudden explosion that emanated from the board. sending her flying through an ice pillar. Reese landed safely onto the ground and broke off into running, grabbing her hover board and boarding it, trying to smash Blake's body.

Blake quickly recovered and dodged it. Reese jumped and spun with her board, releasing some of wisp of fire to do extra damage. Blake yet again used her Semblance to take the hit and send herself to took notice of the nearby glacier and got an idea. She threw Gambol Shroud right at it and used it to launch herself behind it.

Reese quickly followed and saw Blake with her back turned. The skater grinned and rode in to deliver a flaming spiral kick at the Cat Faunus, only to find out she had been duped yet again. In slow motion, Reese started to panic as she saw Gambol Shroud being embedded onto the glacier, knowing full well how screwed she was. Blake pulled on the ribbon and used it to trip Reese.

Seeing the opportunity, Blake performed a flying back kick, shooting Reese out of the arena and towards the stands, causing her to bounce off the energy field. She fell, face down, her hover board right on top of her. Reese picked herself up, hearing the buzzer for a ring-out, along with the buzzer for Aura level out.

 **"Ooh, a double whammy! Reese Chloris is eliminated by ring-out and Aura level!"** announced Port.

Reese looked at the screen to see that her Aura levels had dropped below 20%, disqualifying her from the rest of the fight. To take matters worse, she was eliminated via ring-out, making her sigh and feel humiliated by it.

 **"Oh, she really should've worn a helmet!"** commented Oobleck.

Arslan slid across the icy floor, avoiding Yang with the help of her rope dart, who was hot on her trails, using Ember Celica to propel herself.

Meanwhile, Nadir was engaged in battle with Ruby. The Rosette spun in the air and shot at the pink-haired male. As Nadir landed to shoot at least do some damage, Bolin was sent slamming into him, the two sprawled right in the middle. Weiss smirked and summoned a black Glyph under the two, causing them to helplessly float into the air, bumping right into each other multiples times.

Weiss's smirk turned into a grin. She embedded Myrtenaster right into the floor, casting another Glyph right under the two. Shards of ice materialized and formed into a giant ice fist, grabbing Bolin and Nadir and clutched onto them tightly. The fist curled up into a ball, trapping them and fell down. The icy sphere began rolling down to the edge for an easy ring-out.

Arslan took notice and couldn't help but roll her eyes in annoyance. _"As usual, the boys can't do anything with getting in trouble."_ thought Arslan.

The chocolate-skinned team leader changed directions, stopping right in front of the rolling ice sphere. Arslan grunted and focused. She slammed her foot down, channeling Aura into her fist. Arslan let out a roar as she punched the sphere, shattering it and freeing her teammates.

Weiss quickly called out to used her Glyphs to to shape the icy terrain into a curved ramp. Yang nodded propelled herself towards the ramp. Blake ran along the ramp, throwing Gambol Shroud at her partner. Yang caught it, prompting Blake to tightly grip onto Gambol Shroud's ribbon, preparing to propel Yang at the remaining members of ABRN. She jumped onto Ruby, who then used the recoil from her sniper to push her teammates forward. Blake went flying, Yang in tow.

Arslan was busy trying to get her boys back up when the sound of screaming reached her ears, which strangely started to get closer. The three of them spun around, seeing Yang coming right at them with a shit-eating grin. Arslan blinked, realizing how they were standing in a row, just perfect for all of them to get hit at once.

 _"Bloody crapbaskets. We're dead. And I blame the boys."_ were Arslan's last thoughts as she Yang's fist connected with her chest.

The combined strength, speed and momentum sent the remains of Team ABRN flying across the stage, right into some lava boulders. The attack was more than enough to bring down the Aura levels of the three straight to the red zone, giving RWBY the victory.

* * *

Team RWBY was still brimming with joy, reveling at the fact that they won. The four met up with Team JNPR at one of the stalls, deciding to get a bite to eat. There, they saw their friends chatting with one another, Nora holding onto a rather large Grimmified Sloth plushy.

The four sat down and ordered, immediately getting their food, with Weiss paying for it. As they ate, they decided to share the previous matches before them.

"Damn. That team with Cinder was actually pretty good. They didn't even get their Aura dented, and they practically curb stomped their opponents." commented Yang, as she swallowed her noodles. "And then there's fourth teammate."

JNPR quirked an eyebrow, Pyrrha prodding the blonde to continue.

"Let's just say...she was pretty strong. And annoying."

Ruby groaned and buried her head on the table, remembering something the mysterious fourth teammates did. "Ugh. Can you PLEASE not remind me? That girl just kept on singing that dead meme. Practically everyone started booing...until she just ring-outed the team from Atlas with her weapon."

"Which was...?" asked Nora, leaning in forward, an excited smile on her face. Probably thinking the weapon was a hammer or something.

Ruby scratched her head, trying to remember. "Uh, I'm pretty sure it was a musket."

The others looked quite skeptical, Ren most of all. "I don't think a musket can withstand enough force to slam FOUR teenagers of average weight out of the ring."

"Believe her, it's actually true." interjected Weiss, who had just finished her bowl.

Taking their word for it, they decided to move on to SSSN's fight.

"Man, you guys should've been there." egged on Yang. "It was so-"

She was immediate cut off by someone shushing her. The blonde turned around to see Sun, his finger right on his lips, his eyes narrowed down to a small glare.

"No. Don't. We've established to NEVER speak of it again."

Weiss scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh come now. Even I must admit on how exhilarating your team's fight was."

Ruby nodded in agreement, facing brimming with unrestrained exuberance. "Yeah! It was so great! Lightning flew everywhere! We got a freaking sword fight. A pirate showdown. But the octopus part was a bit weird though. Good thing it didn't happen to what most anime do."

The can Yang was holding was crushed to a pulp, the remaining juice inside squirting out. The blonde's eye twitched, her eyes flickering to red.

Sun got into Ruby's face and just shushed her. "Just...please keep quiet about it. Okay?"

The Rosette pouted but relented, the others nodding. Sun sighed in relief and walked away, waving goodbye to his friends. The eight of them sat in silence, while Yang and Blake kept on devouring their food.

"So...what now?"

Weiss looked up and saw an all too familiar Bullhead cross by. Ruby took notice of her partner's expression and started to poke her in concern. "Um, Weiss? Weiss~?"

The Schnee heiress snapped out of her stupor and quickly took of running. Ruby looked at the others and back at the direction where Weiss went. "I...think I'll follow her."

Ruby dashed off, intent on following her partner.

Unbeknownst to her, a certain dusty, old crow had also spotted the same airship, and was now en route to intercept its owner.

* * *

Ruby panted, doing her best to catch up with her partner, who was heading towards the air docks. She called out to Weiss, asking her why she was in a hurry. Weiss didn't respond, and instead smiled.

From out of the airship, a woman who resembled Weiss, except older and more mature, stepped out, accompanied by both AK-200s and Atlesian Soldiers. Weiss's demeanor became much more happy and called out to the woman.

"Winter!"

Ruby blinked, realizing who she was. "Wait, your sister?" she asked, wanting a bit more clarification. Unfortunately, she was ignored, as Weiss ran up to meet with the woman. Ruby rolled her eyes and just followed along.

Winter faced them with a blank expression. Weiss greeted her sister informally, before clearing her throat, talking in a more refined manner. Winter took a few steps, observing her surroundings.

"Beacon. It's been a long time. The air feels a bit...different."

Ruby just awkwardly stood there, scratching the back of her head. "Well, it IS Fall, so the air's a bit chilly."

This earned her a smack right on the shoulder from Weiss. She smiled at her sister, asking her what she was doing, and how long she'll be staying. The elder Schnee merely glared at her younger sibling, giving out the same answer.

"Classified."

Weiss nodded, an understanding smile on her face. Again, Ruby just stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to comment on. Winter's glare did not cease as she walked closer, starting to criticize her little sister's abilities and tactics in her match earlier. Eventually, she ceased, dismissing the robots. Winter's expression warmed, a smile now on her face.

"So, how have you been?"

This led to Weiss rambling about her achievements in class, earning her a smack on the head.

"Silence you boob!" scolded Winter. "I don't recall asking about your ranking. I'm asking how you've been. Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?"

As she went on, her smile turned warmer and more caring. Eventually, something clicked in Ruby's head. _"Ooooh. She was wearing a mask earlier! A facade! And this is her real self. Like Yang, she's a caring big sister."_

Weiss nodded, pointing at Ruby, and went on to describe her other friends. Winter nodded, a curt smile on her face.

"Now, I have business with the General and your Headmaster. But, seeing as I'm early, why don't you take me to your quarters?" Winter suggested, a sly look on her face.

Weiss agreed, and went to lead her sister to their dorms, describing everything that there is needed to know about it. Ruby was left all alone, scratching the back of her head.

* * *

As the Schnee siblings headed for the dormitory with some AK-200s following them, a certain someone snuck up on the pair of robots at the very farthest, decapitating the both of them and threw one of the heads to gain their attention.

"Hey! Hey you, yeah I'm talking to you...Ice Queen."

Weiss and Winter spun around, seeing Qrow throw one of the headless AKs away. Weiss marched up to the drunk man, thinking she was the one that he called. Qrow shushed the younger Schnee, pushing her away and clarified that he was looking for Winter.

"I saw that gaudy ship of yours in town. Figured I'd go take a look."

Winter didn't seem the slightest amused, and mustered a glare to fix at him. "You do realize that you've just destroyed Atlas military property!"

Qrow raised his hands in faux surrender, giving a 'scared' look. "Woah. I'm sorry." His apology was full of sarcasm. "See, I mistook this for some sentient garbage."

"Tch. I don't have time for this, Qrow."

The caped Huntsman shook his head bemusedly and continued to egg her on. "Geez. You Atlas Specialists think you're ALL so special, don't, you? But you know what you all really are? A bunch of sellouts...just like your boss."

The fuse inside of Winter grew shorter. "I'm not sure what you THINK you're implying. But frankly, I think I've heard enough."

Qrow didn't think so and just went on. "Oh, I heard too. I heard ol' Ironwood finally turned his back on Ozpin."

Winter's glare grew more heatedly, as she pushed Weiss away to the side, telling her to leave. Qrow, however, continued to mock her even more.

"Listen to big sister, Weiss. She'll protect you. Just like Atlas is going to protect all of us, huh?"

Winter had enough. Her patience finally worn thin. "If you won't hold your tongue, then I will gladly remove it for you!" Winter drew out her weapon, a dueling saber, and pointed it right at Qrow.

"Alright then." said Qrow. He slicked his hair a back, an excited smirk on his face. "Come and take it."

The students backed off, giving the two combatants some space to fight. Without any warning, Winter dashed forward and began unleashing a flurry of attacks at Qrow. The male Branwen dodged all of the attacks without even moving in his placed. He ducked under a slash, all the while giving his opponent a mock bow.

Winter took this as an opportunity to land an overhead slash, only for it to be block by Qrow's weapon, which was still inactive and on his back. Qrow took hold of his weapon's handle and forced Winter to back off, his weapon shifting into its sword form. He chuckled and slipped into his stance, giving Winter a come hither motion.

Winter gave no response and merely retook her stance. The two touched blades for a second then re-engaged in their fight. Qrow took the initiative and performed a series of slash, forcing Winter to back flip a few times to dodge, until she eventually blocked it. They glared at each other for a quick moment before they started trading blows, the sounds of clashing blades echoing throughout the entire area.

Ruby came rushing in, curious as to what the commotion was all about. She turned to Weiss to ask what was going on.

"Some crazy guy just started attacking my sister!" replied Weiss, a bit frantic.

"Oh no! Who would do such a th-." She cut herself off once she saw who was fighting Winter. "That's my Uncle!" She pumped her fist, cheering her uncle on. "Kick her butt, Uncle Qrow!"

Weiss looked conflicted for a moment, right before shouting out her own encouragement. "Teach him respect, Winter!"

As the fight continued on, Mercury had walked by, shrugging off the fight. But one of the fighter's caught his attention and did a double take. He slightly paled at seeing Qrow and hurried off to find his teammates. Atop a building, Anderson stood and spectated the fight.

Both fighters still couldn't hit one other, canceling out each other's attacks. Winter saw an opening and struck Qrow by the face with the hilt of her weapon. Qrow didn't even flinch, his eye even seemed to flash for a moment. He raised his blade, preparing to bring it down.

Winter summoned a glyph below her feet, allowing her to jump back. Qrow brought down his blade, destroying the floor where Winter had stood. Anderson sighed in annoyance at this and pushed up his spectacles. "At this rate, they might hit some of the bystanders."

The two continued on fighting, their blades locked in a clash. Qrow smirked at Winter and pushed her back. He twirled his blade and charged forward. Winter grunted and did the same. However, before they could reach one another, they were quickly interrupted by a hail of bayonets and gunfire.

Qrow found himself face-to-face with Anderson, while Winter was grabbed from behind, specifically her eyes, by Alucard who had heard the fighting and came to observe, pulling her back.

Anderson retrieved his bayonets and stared at Qrow. The priest noticed the flask on Qrow's belt and groaned out loud. "Qrow, we talked about this."

The male Branwen actually looked ashamed and rubbed the back of his head. "I tried to, Father. Honest! But my hand won't cooperate. It just keeps grabbing it!"

"With how much you do it, you'll eventually end up dead!"

Meanwhile, Alucard conversed with Winter. "By the way, did you notice your sister's boobs just grew up to C-cups?"

In the background, Weiss looked down, blinking that her breasts did seemed to have grown a bit larger. Winter's brain seemed to have shut down, before it eventually rebooted, registering what Alucard just said. "What?!"

"Yeah! Oh, and we're in-laws now, by the way."

The elder Schnee slumped forward a bit, in disbelief. "What."

Alucard chuckled and clasped Winter by the shoulder. "Oh you better believe it!" His expression turned sullen, retracting his hands. "But be honest with yourself, would you really prefer your own family, barring Weiss?"

Before Winter could even respond, Ironwood strolled in, asking why the courtyard was damaged, with Penny in tow. The Atlesian General looked at Alucard and Anderson gave them a nod of gratitude. With that out of the way, Ironwood snapped his attention to the ones who started the fight, namely, his subordinate.

"What in Remnant were you doing?!"

"He started the altercation, sir." said Winter, accusing Qrow.

Qrow looked relaxed, despite having just been cowed by Anderson, and opened his mouth to speak up, only to be cut off by Anderson. "That's actually false. Winter was the one to attack first."

Winter was about to counter with her rebuttal, before she realized in horror that what the priest had said was true. She hung her head in shame, having been the one in the wrong. Ironwood nodded, seeing that she was chastised enough. He then turned his attention to Qrow, asking him why did he come back so early. Before Qrow could reply, Ozpin and Glynda strolled in, the latter working on fixing the broken flooring.

Ozpin faced the students and took a quick sip from his mug. "There's a sanctioned fight happening just around the corner of the coliseum. That I can assure, has better seats...and popcorn."

At that, the students started to break off, Ironwood motioning for Winter and Qrow to follow, with Penny on tow. Qrow saw Ozpin's expression, and had no choice but to comply. Penny saw Ruby and waved at her, beaming brightly. Ruby waved back, her cheeks a bit tinted with red.

Alucard looked at his equal, a grin on his face. "We're gonna crash their meeting, right?"

"Of course! What do you take me for?"

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking, Jimmy?! I thought we talked about this!"

In Ozpin's office, currently, there was a shouting match between Qrow and Ironwood. The General slammed his hand on one of the pillars, looking at Qrow with a light glare. "I'm doing what I must to protect the people of Vale!"

"Oh really?!" exclaimed Qrow. "Look, I already gave my report back at Vytal Island, and NONE of this can even compare to what she's made. These little ships of yours? Seriously, did you even think that it wouldn't scare them?!"

"Qrow is right."

The three spun around, seeing Alucard phase through the elevator. A flutter of holy scriptures gathered, Anderson appearing from it. The CrimsonFuckr looked around, a bemused expression on his face.

"Even after all this time, you still have that obsession with time and gears. You haven't changed one bit, Oz." Alucard lost his bemusement, looking quite serious. "If Salem and Millennium ARE working together, your little army won't even dent their forces. And if they HAVE perfected the formula to creating artificial vampires, I can safely say that the Kingdom of Vale MIGHT be fucked."

Ironwood clicked his tongue, looking quite defiant. "You don't know that!"

Alucard didn't look amused at the General. He slowly walked up to him, a frown marring his face. "Oh. And I suppose you do? I've lived for quite the millennia, Ironwood. I know what ghouls, whether artificial or natural, are capable of. Your little toys might shred them, but they'll just get up and be angrier. With the civilians too occupied with running in fear, the Grimm will come and slaughter the remaining idiots."

Anderson crossed his arms, in agreement with the vampire. "Aye. You lot need more than just brute strength. You need tactics, strategies, and most important of all: an array of Holy weapons."

Ozpin clasped his hands, resting his chin on it. "Then I can assume that Hellsing and the Luna will lend their aid when the time comes?"

The two juggernauts nodded. Ozpin then turned to Ironwood, shifting the topic. "How goes the progress of rooting out the virus?"

Ironwood smirked, placing his hands behind him. "Slowly but surely, my crew's isolated the virus and is working on strengthening the system and its firewall. Shouldn't be too long till the virus is completely wiped out."

"Good." Ozpin leaned back, looking a bit relaxed. "We must stay alert, and wait for the opportune moment to strike. For now, let us enjoy the festivities."

* * *

Mercury watched his boss pace back and forth, looking a bit disgruntled.

"And you're sure?" asked Cinder, reining in her worry.

"Bad hair, used a sword and smelled like my dad after a long day. It was him." replied Mercury seriously, no trace of usually joking attitude.

Emerald expressed her worry, since Qrow was the one to halt their mission of assimilating Amber's powers.

Cinder thought about it deeply before she replied. "Nothing. We stay the course. They have no idea who we are, so we have no reason to wor-"

Cinder was cut off by the ringtone of her Scroll. Her eyes widened in shock, seeing it was Arthur Watt's number. She composed herself and answered the device. She listened to whatever the man had to say. As time went by, Cinder's expression contorted to that of a mixture of shock, fear and surprise. Once the call was done, Emerald spoke up.

"What's wrong?"

The false maiden took a few minutes to compose herself. She sighed deeply and looked at her subordinate. "They already know we're here, and the virus has been compromised. Torchwick sold us out."

Mercury frowned, crossing his arms. "Then what do we do?"

Before Cinder could speak, she took notice that her Scroll was still connected with the CCT, mainly with the tournament's placement setting. "For now, it doesn't matter. We make our move once they've made theirs. The plan will proceed."

* * *

 **The Grimm Lands**

"How goes the experiments, Herr Doktor?" asked Salem. The Mistress of the Grimm sat on her throne, asking the mad scientist of the progress of a certain thing she had requested.

"If you must know, Mein Fuhrer, it's a complete success!" he proclaimed with glee. "The Grimmhave successfully been turned into Ghouls and retained their basic instincts! Now, we have an immortal army, driven by BOTH negativity and the blood of our enemies!"

Salem grinned sadistically, obviously liking what she was hearing. "I presume that they can also turn others into ghouls?"

Her grin was wiped off, seeing Doktor shake his head. "That… is an unfortunate side effect. They may be ghouls, but they cannot turn others." Doktor grinned, piquing Salem's interest. "Instead, they can emit an atmosphere of negativity that will attract its fellow Grimm, or use it to evolve their brethren to its highest attainable form."

Salem's grin returned tenfold, which please Doktor."Excellent." She stood up from her throne, strolling up to the window that overlooked her world. _"It_ _w_ _on't be long now. Soon, the flames of hope will be snuffed out, and despair will blanket this world. Ready yourself, Ozpin_ _as_ _I make my move."_


	13. Series of Events

**Read and review.**

* * *

Roman grunted, falling on to the pavement. He quickly rolled to the side, narrowly dodging a parasol. The reformed criminal took hold of Melodic Cudgel and deflected Neo's strike.

Neo flipped back a couple feet away, distancing herself from Roman. She smirked, gesturing a come hither motion. Roman twirled around his cane and smirked back.

The two ran toward each other, meeting in a clash. They traded blows, either canceling one another's attacks or hitting each other. Roman spotted an opening and took it. he swept Neo off her feet and prepared to shoot her point-blank, only to disappear in a flutter of petals.

Roman lowered his cane, closing his eyes in concentration. From behind, Neo popped up, the blade in her parasol unsheathed. Torchwick snapped open his eyes, a faint orange glow around it. He spun around and intercepted Neo's attacks. He parried he thrusts an smacked her wrist, forcing her to drop her weapon.

Before Roman could deal another blow, Neo faded in a pink light. He just stood there, motionless. Neo appeared to his left, preparing to strike. However, she didn't get the opportunity to move.

Torchwick aimed him cane and shot her right in the gut. Neo fell down to the ground, letting out a silent groan. Torchwick twirled around Melodic Cudgel and smirked victoriously.

"Not bad for a one-armed pumpkin-scented candle, huh?"

Integra strolled in, hands behind her back, a lit cigar in her lips and a satisfied look on her face. "Well done, the both of you. I can safely say that the two of you are fit to be a part of Hellsing."

The former criminals smiled, saluting the blonde. She took hold of her cigar and nodded at the door.

"Go on. Take the test of the day off for now. I'll call you when-"

"Hey, is Torchwick here?"

Integra's eye twitched in annoyance, snapping her cigar in half. She hated getting interrupted. She and the former criminal duo turned to the source of the voice and saw Qrow, holding out a medium-sized box.

The leader of Hellsing rose an eyebrow, curious as to why an agent of Ozpin was here in her home/workplace.

"Qrow Branwen. To what do I owe you the pleasure?"

Qrow slicked back his hair, looking quite annoyed and peeved, and hefted up the box he carried. "Got a package for Torchwick. It's from Ironwood." He spun it around and tossed it straight at Neo.

Roman quirked an eyebrow, looking a bit confused. "What is it?"

Neo caught the box and opened it up, taking a look inside. The petite girl let out a silent gasp at what was inside. This made Roman all the more curious. He walked to his partner, asking what was inside. Neo faced her lover and took out the item.

It was a cybernetic arm.

Roman blinked in shock. He did NOT expect that. Qrow's seemingly bad mood lessened as he cleared his throat and told Roman its name.

"Introducing the all new Auxiliary Uber Revolving Automatic Arm Replacement Mechanism, or AURA ARM." Qrow shrugged and added, "OR you can just call it by it's production name; CJ-W2."

Roman gingerly took the ARm from Neo and inspected it all around. Qrow smirked and continued with the details.

"It's made out of Vibranium…ain't gonna bother explaining that, so let's just say it might be something stronger and durable than your average metal. It's outfitted with a Dust Launcher, kinda like a grenade launcher." Qrow shook his head and stopped himself. "Heh, I'll just let you find out the other features, because I didn't really pay attention to Jimmy."

Roman chuckled. He handed over the arm to Neo so it could be, in a word, installed.

Qrow let out a ragged sighed. He slicked back his hair again, letting a frown reach his lips, remembering what Alucard told him and the others.

* * *

 **An Hour Earlier**

 _"For now, let us enjoy the festivities."_

 _Everyone and turned to leave, besides Alucard and the Anderson, the former opting to leave in his usual mode of transport; by teleporting out with his scriptures. Before anyone could even step foot into the elevator, Alucard screamed, a look of realization dawning his face._

 _"Of course! Now I remember why the name Branwen sounded so familiar!"_

 _Qrow spun around, an eyebrow raised. "I heard my name?"_

 _Alucard's eyes glowed brightly. Dark matter seeped out and surged out right at the Inner Circle. No one even managed to react time, as they were swallowed up by Alucard's stuff._

 _The Inner Circle blinked in surprise, finding that they were no longer in Ozpin's office. Instead, they were in a dimly lit room, pictures of Aphrodite and Pyrrha strew around. Strangely, said pictures were the only sources of light._

 _"Welcome to my Memory Nexus."_

 _Alucard materialized right in the middle, a slight smile on his face, spreading his arms across to gesture the room. The area rippled, changing the room at the far back, his emblem appearing, which consisted of his two pistols crossed together, a sword impaling it right in the middle._

 _Ozpin composed himself and sipped from his mug. He sighed and asked the vampire a question. "So, pray tell, why did you drag us in to your mind?"_

 _"No. It's more like I'm projecting my mind through my body, and you're all in it."_

 _Glynda took a step forward, arms crossed and eyebrow quirked. "You didn't exactly answer Ozpin's question. Why did you bring us here?"_

 _Alucard looked to his left, where a picture frame of the moon was hung. He walked up to it and brushed his hand on it. The picture burst into fragments, before it re-converged and became a viewing screen._

 _"In all honest, I've forgotten the meaning of the name Branwen until recently. I'll let the memory explain itself."_

 _The viewing screen displayed static, before it shifted to that of a side view of Alucard, a grin on his face._

* * *

 _ **Prior to A Year Ago**_

 _ **Alucard strolled through the forest, the bright, yet fragmented, light of the moon shining under him. On a rare occasion, he was having a peaceful walk. He smiled, his wife coming into his mind.**_

 _ **"I wonder how Aphrodite is doing right now? Probably enjoying the attention she gets. Wish I can at least taste her blood aga-"**_

 _ **The vampire stopped in his tracks, the sounds of battle reaching his ears. "A fight... Heh, might as well see who will be my unfortunate victim." He continued walking, right near-by the source of the sound.**_

 _ **Alucard jumped and perched himself up on a tree branch to see the battle. No, it was more like a slaughter. Dozens of bandits stood their ground, shooting at a large crowd of ghouls, being pushed back by their weapons.**_

 _ **From behind the group, a woman in red wearing a Nevermore mask charged right in, wielding a katana. She wen straight for the undead mob and started hacking her way through, every dismembered limb falling down onto the growing heap.**_

 _ **Alucard couldn't help but grunt in surprise, and recognition. "To be able to dispatch ghouls without a holy weapon is an impressive feat."**_

 _ **Unsurprisingly, the ghouls weren't dead, again, yet. Despite no longer having limbs, or having only one arm or leg remaining, they still continued to crawl towards the bandit group. The woman in red sheathed her sword back. Alucard let out an 'Oh' of amusement, seeing the sheath contain multiple blades. The sheath rotated, allowing the woman to take hold of another.**_

 _ **The woman unsheathed it, this time, the blade was purely red. Alucard smirked, realizing what it was.**_

 _ **"I see. So it's infused with Dust, and by following with that logic, the other katanas were infused as well."**_

 _ **As he was commentating to himself, the woman charged at the mob and swung her katana, releasing a red arc right at the ghouls. The arc passed through and the undead mob burst into flames.**_

 _ **Alucard smirked that he was right. The woman grunted in satisfaction and sheathed her blade. She spun around and met with the bandits. Alucard smiled and decided to congratulate them. He dropped down from where he was and walked up to the group.**_

 _ **"Hmph. They may be bandits, but, they've certainly earned my respect for that." thought Alucard.**_

 _ **The bandits heard Alucard's footsteps and quickly took aim at him on instinct. The red-cloaked vampire raised his hands in faux surrender, an indifferent smirk on his face.**_

 _ **"No need to shoot. I've only come to thank-"**_

 _ **Alucard was cut off, riddled by the bandits' guns. They stopped firing, allowing the woman in red to rush in, her regular katana in hand. In a second, the blade with contact with Alucard's throat, decapitating him.**_

 _ **Alucard's head flew and hit against a tree, blood spurting out from his body as it fell down. The masked woman flicked off the blood on her blade and sheathed it back. She looked at the bandits and nodded. All of them started heading off, until the sound of an angry growl stopped them in their tracks. They spun around, and saw that Alucard's body had disappeared, alarming them.**_

 _ **The bandits took hold of their weapons yet again and quickly reloaded them. The woman placed her hand on the handle, allowing the sound of nature to reach her ears to figure out where the noise was coming from.**_

 _ **One of the bandits noticed something jump from the tree. He took aim and shot, only to find nothing. A scream attracted the group and found one of their fellow bandits with her head cut off.**_

 _ **Another scream was heard, this time, three of the bandits had their still beating hearts right next to them. The bandit group started to panic, murmuring in fear while the masked woman remained calm. Finally, a voice spoke, the tone was dark, guttural and horrifying.**_

 _ **"You fucks. I only wanted to congratulate you all for completing a task no mere Huntsman or Huntress can achieve, and you all cut me off and tried to kill me!"**_

 _ **They turned to the left, and saw Alucard, shrouded by his dark matter, his eyes glowing brightly red. On both of his hands were the Casull and Jackal, all cocked and ready to fire.**_

 _ **"This was supposed to be a bloodless walk. But fuck it! You've all done goofed by pissing me off!"**_

 _ **Alucard aimed his guns right at the group and started shooting rapidly. Most of the tribe wasn't able to dodge, getting shot straight in the chest or in the head. The one who were able to barely escaped with their lives tried running away, leaving their leader. The woman in red gasped in shock, seeing her group be killed easily.**_

 _ **She wasn't even able to fully process it as the rest was quickly shot down in a matter of seconds. Alucard chuckled deeply, getting a fearful reaction from the woman.**_

 _ **"Now we're all alone...Raven Branwen."**_

 _ **The woman in red wasn't able to react in time as Alucard appeared right in front of her. The vampire struck her masked face, the force behind the punch was strong enough to shatter her mask to pieces, revealing what she looked like.**_

 _ **The woman was basically a carbon copy of Yang, except she had raven-colored hair, red eyes, and a bit wrinkled skin. Raven trembled in fear, as she finally realized who she was facing.**_

 _ **"Y-You're the-!"**_

 _ **"Tell me, Raven Branwen...did it feel good to cut ties with those you've "cared" about? To abandon everything that you've built? DOES IT FEEL GOOD TO PLAY THE ROLE OF A DAMNED, HEARTLESS MONSTER?!"**_

 _ **Raven grabbed her sword and activating her Semblance, slicing a portal open. "I didn't sign up for this!"**_

 _ **The portal led her into a much more isolated part of the forest. The bandit leader started running, bent on escaping the vampire. However, Alucard had managed to follow her.**_

" _ **NOT YET! IT'S NOT OVER YET!"**_

 _ **Raven hastened in her pace, but Alucard was much more faster. The CrimsonFuckr grabbed her by the back of her neck and slammed her against a boulder. Alucard grunted and slowly walked up to her. Raven sat up, but didn't even get to act as Alucard was clocked her once again.**_

 _ **Alucard raised an eyebrow as a bit of blood splashed on his face. Alucard drew out his tongue and licked the blood. Some bits of information from Raven transferred to his mind. Alucard's eyes widened as he processed what he got. While this happened, Raven stood up and attempted to run yet again.**_

 _ **The red-cloaked vampire chuckled, until it eventually went into full-blown laughter, making Raven pause and shiver at the bone-chilling laugh. Alucard's grin became devilish as he pulled on Raven's hair. He leaned in close to her struggling face, making Alucard amused.**_

 _ **"Hrahahahahaha! How does it feel to be alone, little raven? Nothing to turn to but the cold feeling of darkness blanketing over your body! The emotion of despair overcoming you little by little as hope is forcefully taken away from you!"**_

 _ **Once again, Alucard punched Raven and threw her into another boulder. He sauntered over walked up to the female Branwen, his grin still present.**_

 _ **"This is how your family felt! Your brother. Your husband. Your best friend. AND your daughter! Your men ran away like sniveling pests, leaving you alone to save their own skin. Doesn't feel nice to be alone now, does it!? Oh, and let's not forget, your best friend whisked away your husband. After all, you left him. Someone had to fill the void in his heart, so why not her? And because of your bitchiness, two children almost died! Almost. I wonder where Summer Rose would be had you been there. Probably not scattered across the ground!"**_

 _ **Raven propped herself up against a tree, panting from the fear she felt.**_

 _ **"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"**_

 _ **Alucard approached her and knelt down. He leaned in, whispering in her ear.**_

 _ **"You have nothing I desire...little maiden."**_

 _ **Raven's eyes widened in complete shock, her little secret now known. Alucard laughed in her face because of her reaction.**_

 _ **"You thought it wasn't obvious?! I know of what you've done. Killing the late Spring Maiden in order to gain her power. Quite pathetic." Alucard shook his head and bared his fangs. "But you're swaying away from out little chat. What else shall we talk about? Well, besides abandoning your friends for a group of sniveling cowards. Ah, yes! The dozens of villages you've plundered, the thousands of lives you've fed to the Grimm! Your hands, soaked deep into the ocean of blood!"**_

 _ **At this point, Raven was scared shitless, wanting to be anywhere besides where was right now.**_

 _ **"STOP IT! JUST SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP! W-WHAT ARE YOU?!"**_

 _ **Alucard grabbed her by the neck and stared intensely into her eyes.**_

 _ **"Hrehehehehe! I'm the very monster under the bed that everyone dreads. I am the very thing that keeps you up at night. I will not rest...and neither will you.**_ **Man, if I was Ghost Rider, I'd Penance Stare this bitch!"**

 _ **Alucard threw her down and walked away, leaving her all alone. Just like what she did to her own family.**_

* * *

 _The memory finished playing, the four looking at it with varied emotions. Glynda looked shock and horrified. Ironwood was surprised, yet somewhat glad. Ozpin, however, seemed to be almost disappointed. And Qrow was ranging from shocked, angry and confused._

 _"Okay, first off; what the fuck?! Second; why the fuck?! Third, and most importantly better than what I just said; how the fuck?!"_

 _Alucard shrugged, seemingly understanding Qrow's questions. He looked to the left, a discreet smirk on his face. "Who can say?" He looked back, now with a serious visage. "That's what I wanted to share with you all. Raven is the Spring Maiden, and might also be in possession of one of the Relics. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get much information out of that one drop of blood."_

 _Ozpin shook his head and gave Alucard a smile of gratitude. "No, it's alright, Alucard. This is more than enough." The bespectacled headmaster stared at the General. "I assume you WON'T be making any moves on her right now?"_

 _Ironwood nodded. "Yes. As of now, she won't be any sort of threat, now that her tribe has been killed."_

 _"Good." nodded Ozpin. "Well then, Alucard, may you release us?"_

 _The CrimsonFuckr nodded and withdrew back his dark matter, freeing the Inner Circle._

* * *

Qrow shook himself out of his reverie and sighed again, still in disbelief that his sister was the Spring Maiden.

"Man, I need a drink."

Qrow blinked as he caught a bottle of whiskey. He looked up, and saw Roman holding out a similar bottle with his new arm. The former criminal toasted at the agent and gave him a smile.

"Cheers."

Qrow chuckled and uncorked the bottle, toasting back to the ginger.

"Heh. Yeah, cheers."

* * *

In a grassy hill, Aphrodite and Damien were having a mother-son bonding time. Now normally, with the mind set of the current generation, they'd think it would be something...dirty. However, that's not the case.

The two were having a little picnic, catching up on each other's lives. Aphrodite let out a delightful chuckle as she set down her tea cup.

"My, oh my. You've been acting as quite the gentleman." Aphrodite looked at her son with mirth and a teasing look. "Frankly, I don't think I can believe that you haven't touched a woman's flesh in all those time we were separated."

Damien shrugged and took a bite out of his sandwich. "None of the women interested me that much. And when I did, they were already betrothed to another. You and Mother Thetis taught me to never steal someone else's."

Aphrodite smiled and ruffled her son's hair. "I'm glad you still remember that. But now, I must ask, why Weiss, in particular? Why out of all the women in Remnant, you've chosen her?

The incubus swallowed the last bit of sandwich and stared at the sun for a few moments. He thought it over and sighed and faced his mother to answer her question.

"I was drawn to her for multiple reasons. Her Aura...it reminded me of you. I felt drawn to it, and I could do nothing but follow it. But besides that, I could feel her inner despair and sorrow. I wanted to comfort her and make her happy." Damien looked to his left, a blush creeping up on his cheeks. "And I may or may have not accidentally read her mind and took a peek into her fetishes... and, well, it's-"

Aphrodite shook her head in amusement and took another sip from her tea. "Oh~? Was the depravity of these fetishes enough to make you go hard?"

"...Yes."

The red-haired MILF giggled mirthfully at the shameful and shy expression her son was showing. She snorted and ceased.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Damien. It's normal for us to feel like that. We're sex demons. We're suppose to feel like that." She grinned and took another sip from her cup. "Besides, you should hear what me and Alucard do in the bedroom. I sure you could learn a thing or two."

Damien's eyes widened for a split second, before he closed them and wondered what it would be like. A thought came and he immediately shook it off, shuddering. Aphrodite looked at her son and thought of something.

"Damien, can you something for Mama?"

"Well, it depends." said Damien, a bit suspicious.

Aphrodite smiled warmly and placed down her tea cup. "Can you...turn into your child self. Just for this day? It's been so long since I've seen you and held you in my arms."

Damien looked down, remembering the tragic event that befell their race. It was also the day that he was separated from his mother. The incubus smiled as he began to shrunk down, his hair also shortening down.

In front of Aphrodite was now Damien, having become a child. His hair only reached up to his ears, and was purely red. And his eyes, they were instead to be a rich blue. Aphrodite smiled warmly and scooped the incubus up into her arms, snuggling him into her chest as tears fell down.

Damien smiled and embraced back, liking the aura Aphrodite was exuding. Mother and son stayed like that for a LONG time.

* * *

Ozpin had his hands behind his back as he waited for the elevator shuttle to descend to his destination. The doors opened up, revealing a dimly-lit chamber the torches casting a pale green light. There were multiple hallways branching out, but Ozpin knew that nothing led to those. The only thing that had something was forward.

Ozpin sighed as he walked up to the other end of the chamber, wherein a pod lay. Inside of it was a woman with brown hair, and light brown complexion. Despite the pod only displaying her upper body, it was clear she's grievously injured.

The bespectacled man could only look at the girl with a look of regret as he brushed his hands across the glass.

"Amber Autumn. The current Fall Maiden."

Ozpin gasped and spun around, only to be met with the muzzle of a pistol. The Emerald Wizard recognized the weapon to be the Casull, and saw the familiar glove.

"Alucard! How did you-"

The vampire scoffed and pulled back his arm, placing away his pistol. "Please. You really think that you could hide someone with that amount of power and that I wouldn't be able to sense it? You think too low of me… Ozma."

Ozpin clicked his tongue and turned his back on Alucard. He gripped his cane in anger, being reminded of his past.

"Don't call me that!"

Alucard grunted and crossed his arms. "And why not? That was your given name, was it not? Once a prestigious, righteous and proud warrior who acted only for the good of things, is now but a bitter, man who still acts upon the God of Light's command."

Ozpin roared and sent a blast of green energy right at the vampire. Alucard replied in kind and took out Jackal. But instead of firing out its usual bullets, out came a dark beam, similar to Alucard's own physical matter.

At first, the two seem to be on equal grounds. But we all know better. Alucard grunted and effortlessly overpowered Ozpin's power, sending the man back, luckily, onto a wall and not onto Amber's stasis pod. Ozpin groaned as he picked himself off of the wall. Alucard grunted and put away his weapon, looking at the man with no trace of emotion.

"In all honesty, Salem might be right. Look at them right now, Oz. Even then, they continue to fight each other for their own, selfish purposes. Willing to betray one another, to achieve it. The brothers wouldn't have returned, so why did you bother listening to him? You and your precious woman could've ruled this world."

Ozpin gritted his teeth as he stared down on Alucard. "Because you know well as I do on what humans are capable of, Vlad. I still see a glimmer of hope that all mortals can be redeemed and changed for the better. Once upon a time, I suppose, that I loved Salem. But, the God Of Light was right when he told me that she wasn't the woman I once loved. I won't stop now, until she gets the rest that she deserves."

Alucard smirked, satisfied with Ozpin's answer.

"There it is, the voice of the man I respected. You sacrificed a lot, believing in humanity to change. Humanity...I can never be like them. Their willpower and endurance to face death head on... I admit, I'm jealous of it. I resorted to vampirism, because I was afraid of death. I was a king, a conqueror of kingdoms, yet I couldn't even face my own death with dignity and honor. Maybe...you are right, that mortals do deserve redemption. I will not help you, but I wish you luck."

The Vampire King's smirk turned to that of a warm smile. Ozpin's eyes slightly widened, seeing the image of once, great conqueror that struck fear into the hearts of his enemies, and was also, his old teacher, glimmer right behind Alucard. The supposed cursed man smiled back and nodded.

"Thank you."

* * *

Ren and Jaune sat down onto the front seats, the both of them holding onto a large bucket of popcorn. Nora and Pyrrha had decided to spend some more time at the booths, and as well as to have a little girl-to-girl talk, leaving their boyfriends all alone.

Jaune then suggested that he and Ren should watch how Emerald and Mercury fight to get a better understanding of their fighting style. So, that what was they were doing right now.

The blond popped some popcorn into his mouth, watching as the two infiltrators walked into the arena, facing their opponents; Sun and Neptune. On a voted decision, they decided not to tell Sun about the ghouls or the vampires, just to be on the safe side.

The holographic roulette popped up, spinning as to set the stage. All stopped and landed onto four designated symbols; forest, desert, lava and mountain. The arena shifted, changing into the symbols chosen.

Mercury and Emerald smirked and settled into their stance, Sun and Neptune doing the same and smirked back. The buzzer rang off and the match begun. Sun and Neptune ran at each other and began their tussle.

Neptune stayed at the back, firing at Emerald. The chocolate-skinned female did the same, albeit slowly approaching the blue-haired Huntsman.

Sun parried most of Mercury's kicks, jabbing the silver-haired male. Mercury grunted and used his gun-boots to push back Sun. He ran up a the monkey Faunus and started barraging with him kicks. Neptune took notice of his partner's predicament and charged up his weapon, shooting right at Mercury, sending him flying.

Sun smiled and gave his partner a thumbs up, Neptune returning it. However, that would prove fatal. Emerald's pistols shifted into its kusarigama form and jumped over Neptune, slashing at him from both the back and the front. She turned around and wildly swung her blades, chipping at Neptune's Aura.

The cool guy managed to get away and jumped back to get himself some distance from the mint-haired Huntress. Neptune flicked his gun across, transforming it into its trident form. Emerald ran at him, kusarigama's in hand. Neptune steadily gripped his weapon. He quickly raised it as Emerald went to swing her blades across.

In his mind, he thought he blocked it. But that wasn't the case.

Neptune grunted as he felt the chained weapon scratch at his skin, further decreasing his Aura.

From the audience, Jaune narrowed his eyes, noticing Neptune's Aura shift for a moment.

Sun, who was in a stalemate with Mercury, gritted his teeth as he Neptune get beaten up. He broke apart his staff, turning it into its gun-chucks form. He first showed off his proficiency with it, by masterfully twirling it around his body.

Yet again, the two clashed, firing shots at one another, which were all getting cancelled out. The blond gritted his teeth and slammed his gun-chucks right into Mercury's gut, earning him a pained, but hilarious look. Sun jumped up and spin kicked him away, allowing him to go up to assist Neptune.

Neptune was backed into a corner, his Aura straight into the yellow zone. He fruitlessly tried to block, but somehow kept getting hit. He grunted as he was tossed down onto the floor, his back hitting the ground. Emerald spun around her bladed weapons, shifting it back into its pistol form, and prepared to fire, only to get kicked right on the side of the head and straight into a lava rock.

 **"Ooh! Ouch, she shouldn't have paused for dramatic effect."** commented in Port.

Neptune looked up, seeing his partner with his arms outstretched. Neptune chuckled and accepted the hand, pulling himself up. Suddenly, Mercury appeared right in, doing an ax kick at Sun and sent him straight into the mountain biome.

"Sun!" cried out Neptune in concern.

Before the monkey Faunus could fly straight into the side of the mountain, Emerald's kusarigama shot out and hooked Sun by the back of his neck. Emerald pulled on her weapon's chains, bringing down Sun, painfully.

Mercury grunted and side kicked Neptune straight into the forest area and right onto a tree. The blue-haired male groaned and held his head, watching as his opponent approached him. Neptune shook his head and grabbed his weapon, shooting right at Mercury.

However, for some odd reason, his blasts seem to phase through Mercury, as if he wasn't there.

"The heck? Why isn't he getting hit? It's like he's a ghost or something!"

Neptune got himself up and found Sun being tossed around like a rag doll. He twirled around his gun and aimed right at the chains on Emerald's weapons. He narrowed his eyes and hovered over the trigger. Before he could shoot, he blacked out. He fell to the ground, Mercury hovering over him with a satisfied smirk.

 **"And Neptune Vasilias has been knocked out via Aura level!"** announced Oobleck.

Sun, who had managed to release himself from Emerald's blades, landed on top of a tree surrounded by a thick head of leave to hear the announcement just in time.

"Neptune! Ah crud."

Ren frowned, eating a few more popcorn from his bucket. "Sun's not gonna win this, obviously. But Neptune, I may not be that proficient in Aura sensing, but I could feel his pool slightly shift."

"So, I wasn't the only who noticed." spoke up Jaune. "Even if slightly, it felt as if his reserves were invaded by someone else's. And he shot his weapon despite nothing being there. So, it's possible,"

"That Emerald's Semblance is illusion-based." finished Ren.

Sun watched from his spot as Mercury and Emerald looked around for him. The blond sat down into a sort of meditative position. He crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and focused. Two spectral clones of his materialized, standing right next to him. The two clones jumped out and went straight for Emerald and Mercury.

The two didn't even get time to react as the clones touched them and exploded, reducing their Aura by a sizable amount. Mercury picked himself up and was immediately met with the butt of Sun's staff. The blond back flipped, dodging some of Emerald's gunfire, hitting Mercury instead.

Sun twirled around his staff and jabbed and smacked Emerald a few times, right before shooting her in the face, her Aura level now at the yellow zone and on its way to red. Before Sun could even celebrate, Mercury kicked him right in the back. He performed a circle ax kick, sending Sun flying. The silver-haired male smirked and hit Sun with a flying kick.

Sun groaned and rubbed his aching back. He shook his head and gasped at the sight before him. Somehow, there were multiple Mercurys and Emeralds in front of him, lurking about in the forest. He looked at the monitor, noticing how his Aura levels were close to dropping.

 _"No! I can't give up now! My team's depending on me! Sun Wukong ain't no quitter!"_

The blond Faunus let out a war cry and charged in, wildly swinging around his staff. It wasn't long until he noticed that he wasn't actually hitting any of them. Before Sun could even stop, he was met with a boot to face, via Mercury. Sun was sent right into a couple of tree branches, snapping them. He fell down hard, groaning out loud.

 **"And Sun Wukong has been eliminated via Aura level!"** spoke up Oobleck.

Sun groaned again, this time, in disappointment. He lied back down as he looked up with a frown. Emerald walked up to Mercury, the two of them smirking at each other.

From the audience seats, Jaune grabbed a fistful of popcorn, nodding to himself. "That just about confirms our theory. Let's get out of here and warn the others."

Ren nodded. They stood up and went for the air docks to go and tell their friends what they saw.

* * *

"Poor Sun and Neptune." was all Ruby could say as she sadly sipped from her vanilla cream, strawberry shake.

The two men from JNPR had met up with their girlfriends and RBY, who were all hanging out by the near-by Dustbucks. Weiss was nowhere to be seen, as she was spending some time with her sister.

"It was kinda to be expected, Ruby. Sun's strong and all, but he couldn't have possible won against those two." spoke Blake, biting into her cinnamon roll.

Ruby sighed as she slumped back. "I know, but still, we should've at least warned them to be careful."

Pyrrha shook her head as she swallowed a piece of her Oreo cheesecake. "Ruby, from what Blake told me, Sun has a bit of loose lips. We're just being cautious. We don't want to cause wide spread panic, do we?"

The Rosette thought about what the vampiress said and couldn't help but concede. "I guess you're right." she said, taking another sip from her drink.

The seven group of friends remained silent, either drinking or eating, until, "We need to be ready." Jaune said all of a sudden.

"What do you mean?" asked Ren.

"Despite nothing happening right now, we're at war. The moment they crashed the meeting at Vytal Island, they declared war. We don't know when it's going to happen, but we need to always be prepared, just in case."

Pyrrha frowned and placed her hand over Jaune's shoulder. "Jaune, you need not be so paranoid. If they do manage to successfully attack Vale, then father, your uncle, and the army of Atlas will repel them."

"I know..."softly said Jaune. "But I just want all of you to be careful...I don't want to lose any of you."

"Geez, Vampire-Boy. You don't need to worry that much about us. I think we can take care of ourselves." boasted Yang.

Jaune shook his head. "I know, but it's better than to tempt fate."

"Relax, Jaune-Jaune! It's not like one of us is gonna lose an arm, right?" said Nora.

Ruby chuckled and got in on what Nora was trying to do. "Yeah. There's nothing bad gonna happen. No one's gonna lose an eye or a leg, or anything. Besides, we have the high ground!"

Jaune slammed his face against the table, groaning out loudly as his friends laughed in the background. In a matter of time, Jaune found himself chuckling along his friends, enjoying the time they were spending together.

He just hoped that they could do this again in the future.


	14. So Much Foreshadowing

**Read and review.**

* * *

Everything was in ruin. Everything was in havoc. Buildings destroyed. Graves desecrated. Countless dead bodies were scattered, all of them having one common thing: stakes were sticking out from their chests. And so there were bodies, so there was blood as well, large enough to form a lake.

At the center of it all, were two figures. One held the other at his mercy, holding a stake, ready to plunge it into the other's chest. The one at mercy was the very Vampire King himself; Dracula.

His entire army had been killed, leaving him all alone to fend himself against the ones who dared to invade his home. However, he was severely defeated, by Abraham Van Hellsing.

The man stood straight, glaring intensely at the Count. "All flesh is grass, and all the comeliness thereof as the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God abideth forever." He raised the stake and plunged into the vampire's chest.

Dracula's eyes widened, his mouth agape as blood came gushing out. He grunted and stared at the man who defeated him, his eyes solemn. "Have I been bested... sir?"

"Indeed, you are bested. This is not a nightmare you will be awaking from. You lay upon the blood-soaked dirt of your ruined land. Castles plundered, you dominions in ruin, servants destroyed, and the girl has fled this place forever more. She will never be yours, Count!"

Dracula couldn't help but hide his little smirk. Before he could speak, Van Hellsing had raised his fist yet again and slammed it onto the stake, driving it further into his heart. The Vampire King's eyes shot open at the pain coursing through him. He reeled back and screamed in agonizing pain as the blood gushed out from his chest.

Before he could even fall with dignity, Van Hellsing denied him of this and grabbed him by his collar, forcing him to stare at him face-to-face.

"You are judged, Vampire King, but now I ask you this: What say you, monster, demon, devil conceived by the bleakest womb? What say you now?!"

Dracula felt himself grow weaker with each second passing by. Yet he felt satisfied. The doppelganger of his beloved was discovered and was now gone. His true Queen had escaped, and was now safe. In time, she will find him, and free him. But for now, he was willing to face his judgement and to humor the mortal that gained his respect.

"The Aristocrats..." he uttered weakly.

Van Hellsing narrowed his eyes and grunted, further burying it into the vampire's heart. Dracula felt his body force it itself into slumber as Van Hellsing spoke his parting words to him.

"In your most private moments, I want you to remember the one man who beat you. Remember it, Vampire King: Now, you have nothing. You ARE nothing. Nothing!"

* * *

Alucard's eyes shot open as he sat up from his bed, slightly panting. He placed his hand over his head, still reeling from what he had just experienced. He blinked, noticing something wet touching against his hand. Alucard pulled it away and saw it was stained with blood.

"It was just...a dream." he tried to convince himself.

"Alu, is something wrong?"

Alucard looked to his left, seeing his beloved wife stir from her sleep. She slowly got up, rubbing her eyes and looking at her husband in worry. Alucard clenched his hand, grunting in dismissal.

"Nothing. It was nothing." He assured his wife.

* * *

 **A Day Later - Amity Coliseum**

Alucard had decided to take some time to watch a few of the pair matches. He couldn't help but chuckle at the overkill that was Sky and Russel vs Penny and Ciel. Of course the team with the super android would win.

He stayed to watch Weiss and Yang fight against Team FNKI's representatives. The vampire's shoulder shook, enjoying how Yang delivered the final blow.

"Well, that was certainly a blast."

Alucard stood to leave, until he heard the announcement for the next match-up. "Will the representatives of Team JNPR and Team CFVY step up to the ring for their match?"

The CrimsonFuckr stopped in his tracks, remembering who it exactly was that would be in the pairs. He sat back down, a curious smile on his face. "Well now, let's see how you do, my little princess."

Pyrrha and Nora stepped into the arena, both having excited grins on their faces. On the other side, Coco and Yatsuhashi stood on ready, staring back at their school mates.

"There ain't gonna be hard feelings after we kick your butts, right?" hollered Coco.

Nora scoffed and easily balanced her precious hammer on her shoulder, her grin still on her face. "Oh please! Me and my bestie will wipe the floor with you two!"

Coco pushed back her shades, a similar grin now on her face. "Oh it's on now!"

Port and Oobleck started the randomizer to set up the battle arena for the match. The symbol roulette stopped, landing on: mountain, savanna, ocean and urban. With the stage now in set, the two professors began their countdown.

Both teams went into their respective battle stances, waiting for the buzzer to ring. Once the countdown reached one, the four students charged at each other and separated with their respective partners.

Nora went for Yatsuhashi, wanting to test her hammer against his blade, leaving Pyrrha to deal with Coco. Nora let out a war cry and brought down Magnhild on to the large man. Yatsuhashi grunted and responded by swinging his weapon up.

The two weapons met, the force of both swings exuding off a powerful pressure that caused the area around them to form small craters. The two pulled back their weapons and began their altercation.

Sparks started flying off, every time their weapons clashed. The two met again in yet another clash. Both seemed to struggle, wanting to push back the other. Nora grinned and pulled back all of a sudden, making Yatsu off-balance.

The hammer maiden spun around, giving herself momentum. She planted her foot down, stopping herself, and proceeded to slam Magnhild against Yatsu. Yatsu raised his weapon, preparing to use his weapon as a makeshift shield to lessen the damage.

However, he severely underestimated both Nora's strength, and the force behind her hammer's swing.

The big man was sent back by a long distance, sending him straight into the mountain biome. He grunted and stabbed his weapon to the ground, stopping him to a skid. Yatsu looked up, only to be met with the end of Magnhild, slamming him on to the mountain side.

Alucard smirked, admiring Nora's insane strength. "Heh. I wonder how stronger she would be if she became one of us?"

Nora chuckled and twirled her hammer around, before transforming it into its grenade launcher form. She cocked it and started firing. Yatsuhashi groaned and took notice of the oncoming projectiles. He took hold of his blade and swatted them all with ease. He pulled himself of the mountainside and jumped, smacking away any of the grenades Nora sent his way.

Yatsu landed down, making the ground quake and knocking Nora off her balance for a moment. This gave the big man the opportunity, and he went for it. Yatsu went in and punched the ginger straight in the face.

Pyrrha flipped herself back into composure, after having just been kicking by Coco, just in time to block her bullets. The fashionista grinned and just kept on barraging the redhead.

Pyrrha smirked and started running around the brunette. Coco didn't take heed of this and just kept on trying to hit her opponent. Pyrrha jumped up and tossed her shield right at Coco, who didn't have enough time to react.

The defensive weapon struck her hand, forcing her to drop her weapon. In a moment's time, Pyrrha was right in front of Coco, her weapon drawn and ready to strike. With that, she began her assault.

With now way to defend herself, it was easy for Pyrrha to rapidly attack the fashionista. She jabbed, struck and smacked her, before finally ending it with a series of kicks, sending the second-year student flying. The daughter of Alucard whirled around her xiphos, turning it into its javelin form. She pulled back her arm, preparing to throw it right at Coco.

But she was interrupted, being smacked on the side of the head by the blunt side of Yatsu's weapon, sending her straight to the side of a building. The big man ran up to his team leader and helped her up.

Coco rubbed the back of her head and looked up at Yatsu. "Thanks, big guy. Come on, let's get my weapon and think of a-"

They were rudely interrupted by a sudden explosion, splitting them up and sending them to different directions. Yatsu to the urban biome, while Coco was now in the ocean biome, knocked out besides a rock formation.

Nora, viewing her handiwork, grinned. "Boom boom!"

Yastu grunted, pushing himself up with the aid of his blade. A shot rang off, missing him by just an inch. When another missed him, he quickly rolled to the side and went to find cover behind a fallen wall.

Pyrrha was inside one of the broken buildings, her weapon in its rifle form, scoping out Yatsu and sending him "accidental" misfires. Her lips curled into a toothy grin, seeing her pray stop behind the fallen wall to recuperate. With this, she decided to toy with him, shooting the ground 3 feet away from him.

Yatsu thought he was safe, but he wasn't. He leaned against the broken wall to take a deep breath. When another shot rang off, his breath hitched. He scanned his surroundings, trying to locate where the shots were coming from. Yatsu looked at one of the buildings and saw a glint of red from one of the windows. He grunted and ran straight for the building.

Unbeknownst to him, a certain ginger-haired hammer maiden was following him, raring to smash something.

Seeing her prey was coming right at her, Pyrrha decided to fight him head-on. The redhead launched herself out, Yastu gasping in surprise. The Vampiress descended down upon him with an unnerving grin, Milo in xiphos form.

Yastu raised his blade and blocked Pyrrha's strike. She back flipped away and suddenly started barraging him with strikes and jabs, with a ferocity befitting of a predator. The only thing Yatsu could do was block and deflect her attacks.

Yatsuhashi saw an opening and took it, managing to knock Pyrrha off her balance. He raised his weapon high up into the air and prepared to bring it down unto to the vulnerable redhead.

But it didn't meet its target, instead hitting the handle of Magnhild. Nora chuckled and pushed away Yatsuhashi with ease. Pyrrha jumped over her friend and kicked the big man in the face, pushing him back. Nora followed it up by striking him in the chest, Pyrrha following suit. The ginger-haired female roared and brought down her hammer, making the large male bounce.

Pyrrha grunted and kicked him yet again, sending him smashing into the broken wall. The redhead grinned and threw her shield into the air. Nora launched herself after it. She spun around a coupe of times, right before slamming Magnhild onto Akuou, sending it straight at Yatsuhashi.

Yatsuhashi groaned and stood up, only for his face to meet with end of a shield, the force behind it enough to send him crashing through the wall...well, give or take, about three walls. The big man groaned again, before he fell face down.

 **"And Yatsuhashi Daichi has been knocked out via Aura level!"** announced Port.

Oobleck flinched, clicking his tongue. **"That is certainly going to leave quite the mark."**

Coco softly groaned, pushing herself off the ground. Before she could make another move, an explosion erupted in front of her, sending her towards the body of water. The fashionista gasped and quickly stood up, not wanting to drown.

She looked up and gasped in shock, seeing that she was now alone. Coco blinked, noticing that were some things floating around here. She took notice of the heart symbols in the middle and immediately knew her fate.

"Ah sh-"

Coco was completely cut off as the things, which were bombs, blew up. But an explosion didn't erupt, and instead, released a huge wave of electricity. And since she was in water, it was easily conducted. The fashionista was electrocuted and was sent flying out of the ring.

 **"And Coco Adel has been knocked out by ring out!"** said Oobleck.

 **"It is quite fortunate that she wasn't knocked out with a double elimination, seeing as how her Aura was close to the limit!"**

The girls of JNPR cheered and high fived each other. Alucard chuckled, beyond satisfied on his daughter's performance in her match. He stood up and left, having no more interest in the upcoming matches.

"Hmmm. What to do now?"

* * *

 **Ozpin's Office**

Ozpin took a sip from his mug as he watched students and civilians alike wandering around the various festivities, clearly enjoying the time of peace. The bespectacled man sighed solemnly, knowing the inevitable that will soon befall them all.

The headmaster looked up, hearing the elevator open. He spun around and got off his chair to greet whoever had just walked in to hand them a mug of hot cocoa.

"Qrow, I suppose the relocation plans are successful?"

The field agent nodded and accepted the mug from the man. "Yeah. Ironwood's men are already setting up a facility to house Amber in Atlas so we can find a way to help her back up on her feet."

Qrow took a sip and joined Ozpin to stare down on the ongoing festivities. He looked back at the headmaster and asked him a question.

"You know, I actually thought you'd choose one of your own students to inherit Amber's Aura just so we can gain an advantage instead of trying to heal her. So, what gives and what changed your mind?"

The reincarnated man did not look at the drunkard, but still responded, the expression on his face was completely blank.

"Once upon a time, perhaps I would've done what you said. However, who COULD even inherit the power of the Fall Maiden? At first, I had hoped to transfer it Pyrrha Nikos. However…"

But that statement didn't even needed to be completed.

"Yeah. She's Alucard's and Aphrodite's daughter. Two vampires, and powerful Huntsmen in their own rights. And besides, now we have both Hellsing and the Iscariot Organization to help us with Salem and whatever that group that affiliated themselves with her."

Ozpin nodded. "Indeed. So that is why I've decided to instead have Amber relocated, so we may find a way to heal her wounds. I would rather not risk her powers being transferred to the one who stole her powers if she were to perish."

Qrow took another sip from the mug and agreed. "Yeah. A half-Maiden under Salem's control is bad enough. Add the fucking vampires, and we got a shit storm of a fight. So her getting a fully-fledged Maiden might be bad." And again, he took another sip from the hot beverage.

"I think a Maiden under Alucard's control would be more preferable." thought Ozpin out loud. "At least, he is bound by Hellsing's authority and doesn't have any sort of hatred against humans and Faunus."

The drunkard shrugged and looked back down on the festivities. "I don't know. After seeing what he did to Raven, I kinda have mixed feelings about his morality."

* * *

 **Beacon's Training Ground #7**

Jaune and Ren were sparring, having really nothing else to do.

The blond vampire grunted and went for an overhead strike. Ren raised StormFlower, blocking Nigrum. He kicked Jaune on the side, before going for the knee, earning him a grunt from his team leader.

Ren back flipped away and shot at Jaune, pushing him back. The Lie landed, but was not expecting the blunt side of a blade to smash him against his head. Jaune twirled around Nigrum Mors, turning it into its shotgun form. He cocked it and shot at Ren, stunning him.

Jaune roared and lessened the distance between him and his friend, who still had yet to regain composure. The Vampire Knight and raised his gun, and shot Ren in the face, point-blank.

Ren groaned, lying on the ground. He tried to push himself up, but found himself face-to-face with the sharp edge of a sword. Jaune grunted, a smirk starting to accompany his face.

"Say it!" the blond shouted.

The Lie sighed and shook his head. "Alright. I concede.'

Jaune pulled back Nigrum Mors and helped his brother-from-another-mother stand up. The two smiled at each other and laughed, clearly having enjoyed their short fight. The two went for the locker room to get out of their outfits, and headed for the showers.

Jaune's mind wandered back to the conversation he had with his friends yesterday. The thought of them dying still scares him, but...

 _"Pyr and I... we're immortal. Some day, we'll outlive all our friends, my family. Although, I wonder about something."_ Jaune looked up, not facing Ren as he scrubbed his body. "Hey, Ren."

"Hmmm? Is something wrong, Jaune?"

The sole Arc heir looked down, a bit troubled. "I... have something to ask you, and it might be a bit too personal."

Ren said nothing and merely quirked an eyebrow. Getting no response, Jaune continued.

"What would you do... if you were presented the choice to be immortal?"

Ren's response was instantaneous. "That should be obvious. I would decline it, be-"

"Because of Nora?" cut in the blond. "Well, let's say in this scenario, you're on death's door, and becoming immortal is the only way to heal you and make sure you get to see Nora again? Would you take it, even if it meant outliving her?"

Ren blinked, certainly not expecting any of that. He was beyond surprised, as well as confused as what his friend was asking him. He couldn't even muster to form a coherent sentence.

"I... That's... What?"

Jaune shook his head, a forlorn smile on his face. "Sorry, that was a strange thing to ask. Forget about it."

* * *

 **Student Dormitory**

Mercury, Emerald and Cinder were in their dorms, having been told by Rip to expect a messenger to keep them up-to-date with the plans for invasion. The silver-haired, prosthetic-wearing male grunted and just went about with his sit ups.

"Why wait here of all places? Why not at Vale?" he asked in curiosity.

"For once, I'll have to agree with you. Coming here to Beacon isn't exactly the smartest of moves because of the security and, well, the fact they're not students of ANY of the schools."

Cinder remained silent, content on trying to meditate. The temporary silence was finally broken by a feminine-sounding voice.

"Oh~ You two have no faith in my abilities."

The three snapped their heads to face whoever had spoken and saw Schrödinger hanging on the ceiling fan. The experiment chuckled and dropped off the fan and landed on Emerald's bed.

The chocolate-skinned beauty blinked at the sight and was very curious about one thing. "Are you a Faunus?"

Schrödinger scoffed and jumped off the bed. "Please. I'm much more useful than those animals." The cat-boy grinned as he seemingly appeared all of sudden right next to Cinder, and then Mercury. "For you see, I am nowhere, yet everywhere!"

Cinder quirked an eyebrow, Schrödinger piquing her interest. "Some sort of teleporting semblance?"

"Not even close." said Schrödinger, popping up behind Cinder. "I don't even have my Aura unlocked, but I can safely say I'm much more capable than the Faunus." The blonde shook his head as he decided to finally do what he was tasked to do in the first place.

"The plan hasn't changed much. Other than us Nazis coming to aid you. Since you weren't able to take control of Ironwood's ship, we will the ones to create fear and despair."

Mercury stopped his exercise and sat up. "That's gonna be a huge advantage for us. Ghouls used to be just stories that people tell each other to scare themselves, now they're actually real and can kill them. It's actually kinda better than the whole, robot turns against humanity cliche."

"So, when will they be coming here?" asked Emerald.

Schrödinger grinned. "Oh, in about... an hour or so. Nothing much has changed. Everything will start once Pyrrha Nikos fights Penny Polendina."

* * *

In the air docks, dozens of cloaked men exited the Bullheads, half of them wearing masks. The most peculiar things about them were their skin tones. Even then, no one gave a damn about them and just went on with their lives.

A certain woman with freckles on their cheeks approached the group with a very toothy grin.

"Ah~ Welcome, my friends. Come, come! I will give you all a tour around Vale."

The group said nothing, and instead followed the woman. One of the cloaked men leaned in, whispering something to the woman.

"Major Rip van Winkle, I don't mean to be rude but, why exactly are you trying to hide you accent?"

The musket-user faced the one who asked her and gave him an innocent smile. Before it contorted into a devilish one.

"Are you really stupid, you misogynistic fuck? Obviously, I'm hiding my accent as to not be suspected. Everyone is expecting the members of Millennium to have someone with a Mantlean accent. So stop asking such obvious questions and keep moving and keep following me."

Rip's eyes narrowed behind her glasses, gleaming with malice and promise to inflict pain.

"Unless, of course, all of you want me to have your privileges be checked, ja?"

The Nazis stood stiff in shock and shook their heads rapidly, not wanting to be killed yet. Rip's negative visage were quickly replaced as she clasped her hands.

"Wunderbar! Come, let's get you all a hotel! No need to pay, just subscribe to PewDiePie and do your part against that music DustTube channel!"

And of course, the people of Vale didn't even paid any sort of attention of them. Except for one, a certain red-cloaked vampire eating a long piece of garlic bread, because why not?

"Was that...?" Alucard turned to look at the group, his eyes narrowed. He grunted and turned around, ignoring them and went back to eating his guilty pleasure.

* * *

 **The** **Iscariot** **Organization** **'s** **HQ**

Maxwell was reading through some of the scriptures in the Holy Library, wanting to review his knowledge upon God. The almost-albino man closed the bible in his hand and looked at the cross in front of him in deep thought.

 _"Am I...disobeying the word of God by allowing Jaune to live? God's will is to kill all the monsters who oppose Him, including vampires, werewolves, and most important of all, heretics. Yet, Jaune was not even affected by his armor, which had been blessed by the 1st Pope himself, so, it would only mean that God still accepts him."_

The Mistralian shook his head, placing his hand over his head. "Dear Lord... this is a big contradiction I never would imagine to find. Hmph. If Wright were still here, he'd probably be over that, trying to probably get someone an acquittal. Wonder how he is right now?"

Maxwell, realizing he was getting off track. "Wait, but that's besides the point! Jaune is still seen as a servant of God, despite being a vampire. Yet His will dictates that monsters are to be killed for they oppose His great Kingdom. Jaune is, by all means, a monster. Ugh! This is very confusing!"

"You're quite deep in thought, Bishop Maxwell."

The white-haired male looked to his left and saw one of his fellow priests.

"Ah. Father O'Mally'O'Connel'O'Carrol'O'Reilly'O'Brian'O'Sullivan. What brings you here to this place? To read God's words, perhaps?"

The priest shook his head and walked up to Maxwell. "No. I merely saw you conflicted and wished to lend an ear to talk to. If you are, of course, willing."

Maxwell looked at the man and smiled in gratitude. "Thank you, Father. Perhaps it is bad to keep this all bottled up. I might as well share to you of my plight."

And with that, Enrico shared to the priest his story.

Father O'Mally'O'Connel'O'Carrol'O'Reilly'O'Brian'O'Sullivan nodded, eyes closed. "Yes. I've heard it from Anderson, how his descendant is still seen as one of God's faithful servant, in spite of his recent transformation. Although, I see nothing wrong with it."

"In your eyes, Father, perhaps. But it is a contradiction against the will of God! I, I... Jaune has always been a good boy. He does what he is told. He helps those in need. He prays before he sleeps. However, we were taught to hate monsters, that no matter what, they oppose the divine will of our Lord. Yet Jaune is none of that! I... am confused!"

The priest said nothing as Maxwell vented out.

"I see. It is completely normal, Enrico. There is nothing to worry about questioning your own choices even if goes against God's will. If Jaune has indeed by accepted, then there is now nothing to worry about. Let it go, and move on."

Maxwell considered his fellow priest's words. He looked back at the cross, before looking right at O'Mally'O'Connel'O'Carrol'O'Reilly'O'Brian'O'Sullivan and nodded.

"Yes. Perhaps you are right."

"B-Bishop Maxwell!"

A soldier of the Iscariot Organization came rushing into the room, panting heavily. Maxwell stood and walked up to the man. "What is the matter, Rojo? Has something happened?"

"Y-yes! There's been an attempted break-in at the 'Don't Fuck With This' Armory!"

Both priests looked shocked to core as they heard what the paladin said.

"What."

"P-please. Come take a look!"

O'Mally'O'Connel'O'Carrol'O'Reilly'O'Brian'O'Sullivan and Maxwell followed him, all the way to where they store their weapons. The white-haired Catholic entered and saw Yumie and Heinkel. He went up to them and asked a question.

"Well? Was the idiot that tried to steal something here caught?"

The nun shook her head, a frown marring her face. "No, unfortunately. Our sensors didn't even pick up anyone entering this room. We only managed to find out because went in to do the daily maintenance check up on the weapons."

"And what was it that they tried to steal?"

Heinkel stepped up, answering him.

"...they tried to steal Nail of Helena."


	15. 12 Days Later: Zombie Santa - NC

**So...it's Christmas right now where I am, so have this chapter as a gift of sorts. Enjoy this, whatever this is, I guess. Read and review.**

* * *

In the mansion of Hellsing slept its occupants, plus RWBY, JNR, Anderson, Qrow, Taiyang, Ozpin and Glynda. Alucard was gracious enough to invite them all for their Christmas Eve feast.

They accepted of course.

The snow fell to the ground, the shattered moon high up in the sky as a certain someone flew across it and landed on top of Hellsing Mansion's roof.

Integra's eye shot open, awaking to the sound of a loud gunshot. She quickly sat up and immediately assumed the worst. She bolted off her bed and hastily grabbed her glasses, her gun, and ran out of her room.

Everyone else went bursting out of their respective rooms, weapons within their grasp. All of them quickly went downstairs, into the living room. Integra was the first one in, demanding to know what happened.

"What was that? Are we under attack?! Status report, status report!"

She flicked on the light switch and revealed Alucard, sitting down by the fireplace, holding the Casull, with an annoyed look on his face. Oh, and there was a fat, old man lying dead on the ground with a gaping bullet hole on his forehead, blood leaking out.

Alucard let out an annoyed hiss and looked at everyone. "Before any of you start."

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Qrow. He and the others dropped down their weapons in shock at seeing the corpse of the old man.

The CrimsonFuckr cleared his throat and started again. This time, emphasizing his words. "Before. Any of you. Start!"

Anderson could only shake his head, his hand on his face. "Monty FUCKING Oum, you crazy vampire bastard!" Even he couldn't believe what his nemesis had just did.

"Would any of you care for me to explain?" offered Alucard.

Pyrrha stomped forward and looked quite angry. "Why yes, father! We would like to know why you shot and killed Father Christmas?!"

Ruby, Weiss and Nora slowly approached the corpse and knelt, tearing up as their childhoods had just been killed. Literally.

Alucard nodded and answered his daughter. "He startled me."

Integra's brow twitched in annoyance at her subordinate's so called excuse. "He startled you?!"

"He. Startled. Me!" slowly repeated Alucard.

The leader of Hellsing resisting the urge to facepalm and instead internally seethed, letting her sarcasm do the talking. "Oh. Well, I guess he should apologize!"

Alucard shrugged, stating how it was impossible since Old Nick was dead. Integra groaned out loud, trying to get rid of the incoming migraine. The others walked up and gave Santa's body a solemn look, praying for his departure to the Pure Lands.

Ozpin stared at the Vampire King, asking him a question. "So, what are you gonna do now?"

Alucard sighed and stood up. "It looks like I have to save Christmas. Yup. No other option."

Integra loudly voiced out her displeasure as Alucard moved to disrobe St. Nick.

"How about ANY other options? Any at all?!" begged Anderson.

Alucard grinned as he put on the blood-stained coat. "No use in putting the breaks on it. It's going down."

Mental cogs spun inside of Anderson's, Integra's and Ozpin's head as chimes went off in their heads. "You planned this. You planned this, I know you did." said the three of them in complete sync.

The Night Crawler scoffed and crossed his arms. "Psshh. You honestly don't trust m-"

He was cut off by the door behind him being kicked open by Aphrodite, who was wearing a revealing Mrs. Claus costume. The Nikos matriarch clapped her hands happily and smiled, unaware of the crowed in front of her.

"Master, the sleigh has successfully been secured! We can finally-!" Aphrodite stopped herself, opening her eyes to see that Alucard wasn't alone. "Oh."

Alucard stifled his laughter and opted for a grin, seeing his boss start to seethe. "You don't know how cheap that Mrs. Claus costume was."

Integra's eyes were twitching, teeth bared, a low growl rapidly escaping her lips. Everyone took a few steps back as to not get hit or get caught in the crossfire. Integra parted her lips, the fury of her vocal cords ready to be unleashed.

However, before that could be done, the sound of laughter started to echo throughout the room. Everyone looked at at the vampire pair in bewilderment. The two of them leaned against each other, clutching their stomachs as they laughed with mirth.

Integra narrowed her eyes, her face the very embodiment of bemusement. "Why are you laughing?" she asked. "What's so damn funny?!"

They were too busy laughing to properly give out an oral response and instead pointed at Old Nick's corpse. The dead body shrunk down a bit and mysteriously transformed into a bitch. A female dog Faunus, I mean. Who is not dead and is very much alive.

The Dog Faunus got up and beamed at Alucard and Aphrodite, her hands clasped as she spoke in a very child-like tone. "Did I do good, Master? Mistress?"

One could practically hear the metaphorical glass break as Blake spoke up, saying something she never imagined would say. "What in the actual fuck?!"

Alucard and Aphrodite ceased their laughter, the latter snorting a bit. The former patted the Dog Faunus, making her wag her tail in excitement. Aphrodite smirked and motioned for everyone to follow. The two of them lead the group to the stairwell and pressed her hand on the wall and pushed it in.

"Okay, that's new." remarked Integra.

The wall parted, revealing a hidden elevator, decorated with a peppermint design, candy canes hung up on the wall. Alucard smirked and gestured to the secret passage way.

"Well? Come on, everyone. Allons-y~"

Ruby then decided to point out the most obvious thing. "But, I don't think all of us are gonna fit in there."

Her question was immediately answered as a second elevator popped up. The group split up and went into the two elevators...which were actually connected. Alucard grinned and pressed on the button on the very bottom. That was when Walter noticed it.

"Hold on a moment! This is a high-speed express elevator! Just how deep are we going?"

Alucard looked at his long-time friend and flashed him a toothy grin. "Oh it's way deeper than mortal pussy. You can't even hit the cervix with this!"

Before anyone could even voice out their disgust at the response, the elevator doors closed and immediately shot down at high speed, just like the name implied. In a matter of seconds, they've reached the very bottom.

The doors opened, and everyone's eyes widened in shock at what was before them. Aphrodite and Alucard walked out of the elevator and gestured to what was behind them.

"Welcome! To our little Christmas Workshop!"

The workshop was basically what a stereotypical Santa workshop would look like. Gingerbread decorations, stockings, candy canes and any other festive decorations were littered around. The workers...they were all Faunus. And the majority of them seemed to be female. Oh, and have I mentioned that they were all dressed up in scantily clothing.

Ruby was the first one to recover and voiced out everyone's reaction. "What...in the actual fuck?"

Integra grabbed Alucard by the collar of his clothes and started shaking him rabidly, the blonde very much livid. "Just how fucking long have you kept this a secret for?! And how did none of us ever notice it?! What the fuck is this?!"

"This is so wrong on so many levels." murmured Blake.

One of the Faunus shrugged as he kept on making a toy train. "Still has better benefits than my previous job."

Another one hollered in agreement. "The pay is good! And so are the "rewards" too!"

A horse Faunus rubbed his rump, shuddering a bit. "Could do without the 'plugs', Mrs Claus makes us use."

"I actually dig it. It feels nice." said a dog Faunus.

Yang and Blake could feel blood slowly drip down from their noses. Ruby and Weiss were blushing intensely, their faces the same shade as roses. Nora and Ren were taking notes. And the adults...they were either expressing their disgust or they were slack jawed. Or if you're Ozpin, you just sip from your mug.

One of the workers, a poodle Faunus, skipped up up to Aphrodite, asking for a pat on the head. The redhead happily obliged, making the Faunus pant in pleasure, her tail wagging wildly.

Everyone did not know how to react, and so instead, went back to watching Integra interrogate Alucard.

"If. You. Would. Just stop. Shaking me. I will gladly. Explain!" he said, having trouble speaking because of the shaking.

Integra stopped, and unceremoniously dropped her subordinate down. Alucard stood up and dusted himself. He cleared his throat and explained.

"Okay, the very gist of this is that when I got very bored one day, and this is when Mantle still existed. Anyways, I wandered around, read a few minds on what they wanted for the coming holidays, and it got me thinking; "I wonder if Santa is real?"

Integra quirked an eyebrow, not buying on what Alucard was selling. "Really?" she simply asked.

Alucard grumbled under his breath and crossed his arms. "Fine! Okay, I'll admit it! I went to the North Pole for a walk, saw Santa, got pissed at him because he never gave me my present, then I nommed him up and I started doing his job! There, happy?!"

"But why?" asked Pyrrha. "Why kill him for never giving you your present? Couldn't Mother had just given you it?"

Walter pulled out a piece of parchment paper and read what was written on it. "The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. An advanced long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft capable of Mach 3 and an altitude of 85,000 feet." Walter placed away the parchment back into his pocket and cleared his throat. "That is what was on Alucard's Christmas list...for the past dozen millennia. Or so."

Qrow took a sip from his flask and asked the vampire a question. "Couldn't you just have, you know, stole one from a military base? Plus, you'd get more fun from it." surprisingly said Qrow.

"Too much effort." simply said Alucard.

Blake walked up, the occupation of the workers making her VERY curious. "Uh, can I ask you about the-"

"Our elves?" interjected Alucard. "Sure. Oh, and the gender ratio is even split, by the way. Half of them are female, half of them are male."

Almost everyone was baffled by that statement. "What?!" shrieked Weiss. "But, almost a majority of the people here LOOK female!"

Aphrodite nodded at that. "Exactly. Look is the key word. Some of our men here are very effeminate, so they may look like ladies. But they sure can take it up their asses just as well, if you listened to one of the conversations just now."

"So let me get this straight. You killed Santa because he didn't give you an SR-71 Blackbird, but then you decided to take over his workshop and recruited a fuck ton of Faunus, who are also your sex slaves. Did we get that correctly?" asked Integra, her eyebrow twitching, as she snapped a cigar she just lit.

The two older vampire couple nodded. "Yup." they said, popping the p in the end.

Integra took off her glasses and started massaging the bridge of her nose, trying to stave off the oncoming migraine that would plague her. Why was she even bothering with this?! The blonde opened her mouth to speak out her entire mind, until she took notice of something.

"Wait a fucking minute! Blackbirds didn't even exist back then when people started believing in Santa! And if you ARE him, why couldn't you just have given one yourself?!"

Everyone could see the point in Integra's argument and they nodded in agreement. Alucard rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Yes, because Santa has easy access to top of the line military hardware and the facilities to construct and maintain a hyper-sonic aircraft!"

"You've managed to fucking make a working chocolate fountain with nothing but a wooden chisel three years ago!" argued Integra.

Alucard shook his head and gave his rebuttal. "That's a completely different level of engineering."

Integra wasn't going to give up just yet and brought up another point. "Well, what about the laptop?! Which can turn into a fucking Transformer?!"

"That's from Atlas."

"No it wasn't! I saw you make that out of thin air!" the leader of Hellsing all but shouted.

The CrimsonFuckr shrugged. "...I teleported it."

Everyone else could do nothing but watch from the sidelines as master and servant kept on arguing, each one bouncing back and forth. Integra seemed to grow red and redder, while Alucard didn't even seem to budge.

"And that practically off-brand Ducati sports cycle?!" bellowed Integra.

"Stole them." flippantly replied the vampire.

Integra was now severely pissed that her subordinate was still denying he can make things out of a thin air. "That custom-made Ferrari with a fucking quintuple nitro boost?!"

Alucard tapped his chin and replied. "Police auction. Someone was murdered in it...by me."

Integra groaned out loud, seemingly giving up. "I fucking give- wait a fucking minute." She stood straight, something in the corner catching her attention

"Now before you freak out, the guy was already turned into a ghoul by another vampire-"

He was completely cut off as Integra pushed him away and pointed right at what she saw.

"Why is there a fucking SR-71 Blackbird in that corner?!"

The perceptive people noticed sweat dripping down Alucard's forehead as he shrugged and explained. "Well, that's because there isn't! That's a 1-1 scale model of an SR-71."

The furious leader didn't look convinced. "Bullshit! That's fucking beyond life-sized!"

"That's because it's behind a giant lens that came from the primary laser of a decommissioned Atlesian battleship." rebutted the vampire.

Integra crossed her arms and lit up another cigar to alleviate a bit of her stress. "Oh! So now you're telling me you also have ant-sized Faunus laying around?! Because there's fucking Faunus by that Blackbird and they're running maintenance on it!"

"Actually, it's a condition known as dwarfism. And unlike the Schnees, we don't discriminate."

"Stop fucking lying!"

Alucard shrugged and pointed right at said aircraft. "If you don't believe me, walk up to it yourself."

Before the beyond pissed off blonde could so, Walter decided it would be a great time to cut in.

"May we please get back on track on our original goal?" asked Walter. "Namely, the fact that there's a giant...sweatshop underneath Hellsing Mansion and it escaped our notice till now."

"How do you think I spend so much on 'recreational items'?" rhetorically asked Alucard.

"But you spend most of your time either watching Adventure Time or fucking someone!" bellowed out Integra.

The supposedly real Santa quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'or'?"

Anderson palmed his hand and loudly cleared his throat. "Fucking stop already, you crazy vampire bastard. Can you just tell us what we're here for. Now?!"

Alucard crossed his arms and sighed. "Alright... THOUSAND OF YEARS AGO, before the dawn of humanity and Faunuskind as we know them, in the very northern region of Remnant, there was a man bored out of his mind. He, his wife and servants were all bored and wanted to do something. And they did! They decided, 'Fuck it!' and started making random stuff for children! Because why not? And then they handed them out for free, because charity!"

"Wait." spoke up Ruby. "But you said earlier you killed Santa... And what you're saying now is implying that you've been Santa from the very beginning."

"Ah! That? Well, the thing is, I WAS Santa from the start, but then I got bored of that too and I went back to my old job. So I gave it to someone else. But then I killed them because they stopped giving me presents."

No one spoke for what seemed to be moments, until Jaune broke the silence.

"...Seems fair."

Alucard smiled and clasped Jaune by the shoulder. "At least SOMEONE agrees with me. Just because of that, my gift to you is my daughter! Ravage her to your heart's content!"

Despite blushing in what seemed to be embarrassment, Jaune was cheering internally, practically bouncing off his mental walls. Pyrrha could sense her servant's thoughts and felt a blush creep on her cheeks as well.

"So... can we go back to sleep?"

Before Alucard could even part his lips, an explosion blew off the wall to the far left were the sleigh was located. The 'elves' panicked and ran away.

The smoke was blown away, revealing a certainly surprising figure.

"The fuck?! Why is St. Nick a fucking ghoul?!" asked Anderson.

The undead man roared and spewed out some white projectile right at the group. Jaune and Pyrrha reacted on instinct and raised up their shields, blocking the projectile vomit.

What they didn't expect was to be pushed off their feet and launched straight into a wall. Alucard raised his pistol and fired right at the ghoul.

Undead Saint Nick just walked through the fire, unaffected. Anderson drew his bayonets and threw them rapidly. This time, there was an effect. The ghoul was pierced and shrieked in pain. His beady, white eyes stared into the group, before he growled and retreated, disappearing in a wisp of snow.

Integra marched up to her subordinate and immediately got into his face. "What the fuck was that?!"

Alucard raised his hands in surrender, looking quite baffled as well. "H-How should I know?! I killed him millennia ago! How should I know why he's a fucking ghoul?! But seriously, we need to stop him before he spreads his _**white Christmas!"**_

"That's disgusting...even for you." commented Ozpin

Alucard ignored the repeatedly reincarnated warrior and ran up to his sleigh. He jumped into it and motioned for everyone to get in. JNPR shrugged and joined the vampire. Ruby beamed and followed suit. Walter shook his head, deciding to decline, along with Anderson, Weiss and Qrow. Integra flipped off her servant and stormed off. Blake and Yang looked at each other and nodded, speaking at the same time that they wanted to stay behind to help out with the toy production.

"Well, it HAS been quite a while since I've joined you on a little adventure." stated Ozpin. The headmaster cocked his head and threw away his mug, sitting inside of the sleigh. "Why not?"

Aphrodite ran up to her husband and gave him a kiss on the lips for a bit of good luck. And just because she wanted too. Alucard smirked and took hold of the sleigh's whip. "On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer and Vixen! On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen!To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall. Now, dash away, dash away, dash away all!"

Every reindeer looked up and started moving. One of the Faunus workers quickly ran up to a control panel and slammed her hand onto giant red button, opening up a large hatch, big enough for the reindeer and the sleigh to fit through. Alucard started laughing, Santa Claus style.

"Ho-Ho-Ho! Allons-y everyone!"

And with that, they set off, leaving the others all alone. Yang and Blake found themselves pulled in by Aphrodite, a devious and perverted smirk on her lips. They didn't know why, but they immediately felt their buttcheeks clench on instinct.

"Oh I'll be having fun with you two~"

* * *

Alucard and the others flew through the air, trying to look for the undead St. Nick. Meanwhile, Alucard was also dropping off some of gifts on the houses they passed by. The CrimsonFuckr whistled loudly, another reindeer appearing.

But it had a most distinctive feature. Namely, its bright red nose. If it wasn't obvious enough, it was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

"There you are, Rolph."

The reindeer nodded at his master and cocked his head, as if to ask why he was called.

"There's a fake me running around, and unfortunately, we don't know where he is. Mind scoping out the area to see where he is?"

Rudolph nodded and dived down to start his task. Alucard hummed, pleased that Rudolph acted quick. Ten minutes later, Rudolph came back, his bright nose lighting up. Alucard quirked an eyebrow, smiling.

"You found him?" The rapid nodding was enough of a response for Alucard, who quickly issued out his next order. "Lead us to him!"

Rudolph once again and dived down, with his master following. Eventually, they landed and were lead... to a college sorority. Ruby gasped in surprise and placed her mouth on her lips.

"Oh my... I didn't think those porn videos of Santa would be true."

JNPR, Alucard and Ozpin looked at the young Rose with raised brows. Ruby twiddled her fingers, looking the other way with a sheepish expression. "He heh... I may or may have not snuck a peek on Blake's stash."

"That makes sense." said Ren. The orphan jumped out of the sleigh, StormFlower popping into his hands. "What are we waiting for? A Martian Santa Claus? Let's get going."

The others nodded in agreement and got off their ride, taking out their weapons, or in Ozpin's case, he brandished his cane. The seven of them slowly approached the building. Alucard placed a finger on his lips, motioning for them to be silent.

And then he completely disregarded that by stomping down the door and went in, gun blazing and shot at everyone inside of the room. Once Casull and Jackal were out of ammo, Alucard stopped shooting. He surveyed the corpses and blinked in shock.

"Oh wow. I didn't expect THIS."

And by 'this', he meant the fact that every corpse in the room was not female, but every one was a trap. An effeminate male, to be precise. Ozpin looked at his fellow mentor with a questioning look.

"Since when was St. Nick gay?"

Alucard shrugged. Before he remembered one important thing. "Oh. That's right, I'm pretty sure I conditioned them to be completely omnisexual. But I'm not so sure it's the same guy."

The Vampire King knelt down, noticing that he stepped on some sort of white liquid. He dragged his fingers across and examined it. He neared it to his lips and licked it, taking a taste. He rolled back his tongue and gagged.

"Ugh! That tasted so fucking bad! So glad that wasn't semen! It was weird undead juice. And by that, I mean, it's supposed to be his blood."

Pyrrha sheathed her weapons and looked at her father. "So...what now?"

The seven of them looked at Rudolph, who was whining, having figured out he did a bad. Pyrrha ran up to the reindeer and rubbed his head, trying to console him. Rudolph smiled, liking the aura Pyrrha exuded.

Alucard sighed deeply and looked slightly pissed. "If tracking isn't gonna work. Then we're gonna have to go with a location spell. And unluckily for us, I know only of one wizard."

* * *

 **At Some Stupid Looking Castle**

"...And that's why we, begrudgingly, need your help." finished Alucard. He sighed and looked up, staring at the wizard's eyes. "So, what's your response, Merasmus?"

Merasmus was a very tall wizard, around 7 foot tall, wearing long black robes that got him often mistaken for a female. A dark green scarf wrapped around his neck, and a goat skull cap on his head. He's a self-proclaimed powerful wizard that can travel through time and refers to himself always in the third person. But honestly, he's just a giant pushover who gets his ass kicked by nine "normal" mercenary.

"Hmmm~ And what will Merasmus get out of this deal?"

This earned him a straight jab right on the face, sending him down on the floor from Alucard. The CrimsonFuckr looked at the fallen wizard and glared at him with the intensity of a thousand suns.

"I'm Santa Claus, bitch! If you don't help us find my undead impostor, I'm gonna put you on the naughty list. Permanently! And I haven't even given you your new pinky yet!"

Merasmus shrieked and quickly got to his knees, hands clasped as he begged at the legendary figure.

"Please no! I haven't gotten a new pinky in decades! Please forgive me, Santa! I'll do whatever you want! Hell, I'll even blow-"

Alucard raised his hand, a grin on his face. "Stop right there. I just need you to find my impostor and I won't move you in your place in my list. So get fucking to it and start tracking him!"

The tall wizard stood straight and saluted him. He quickly ran off to prepare the location spell. Alucard looked at his companions with a grin and unfurled a little list, which was the naughty list.

"He's already on the naughty list."

Merasmus came back, carrying a ton of bottles, vials and jars. He threw it into the cauldron and started stirring, chanting out the required spell. From the liquid came out a large smoke cloud, shaping up into a circle. The middle of the smoke cloud parted, revealing the undead St. Nick... who was currently gorging on himself with reservoirs filled with gravy. For some odd reason.

Alucard raised an eyebrow, the image not even showing where he was. "Can't you zoom it out? It's just him gorging on a reservoir of gravy."

Merasmus fearfully nodded and chanted out another spell. This time, the undead impostor's location was much more clearer... if the giant, yellow M wasn't already a dead giveaway.

"So he's at Mickey Dees?" said Ozpin.

"Seems like it." agreed Alucard. He looked at Merasmus and nodded. With that, he and his companions walked out.

Merasmus raised a finger, confused. "Um, where is my gift? Shouldn't I get my gift?"

Instead, he was met with another straight to the face. Alucard's hand glowed a sickly shade of yellow, a red pentagram glowing below him. The vampire chuckled and threw his arm forward.

"Jaratus Pluviam!"

A large rain cloud materialized right above Merasmus, who shrieked in fear. Alucard chuckled silently and faded out of the room. Out of the rain cloud came jars filled with yellow liquid. The wizard's shrieks grew even more fearful as one of them smashed into his face.

* * *

 **Back in the Sky**

Alucard, JNPR, Ruby and Ozpin were back on the sleigh, heading for the nearest McDs. Ruby used the scope on her rifle, trying to spot the faker. Meanwhile, team JNPR was dropping down gifts, which all automatically headed straight for the chimney chutes. Ozpin was just sipping away from his mug, having replaced it with hot cocoa.

Ruby hummed some OST from that one attorney game, whenever you present the right item. The Rosette stopped her scope, seeing the undead impostor still gorging on the gravy. Ruby pointed below, and shouted.

"Enemy spotted! Do I shoot?!"

"Hold your fire, Rose." ordered Alucard. He whipped his reindeer, asking them to go straight down. "Hold on to your shits, cause we're dropping down!"

USN, which is short of Undead Saint Nick, was happily swimming in the container filled with gravy, Luckily, he was still fully clothed, which saved the innocence of the on-lookers. Sort of.

Parents were shielding the eyes of their children, glaring at "Santa" for being so... vulgar. It wasn't long until one of the on-lookers took notice of the sleigh dropping down and grabbed the others attentions by pointing right at it.

"Hey, look at that!"

USN also took notice of this and jumped out of the container, which was then squished by the sleigh. Alucard got off his ride and glared at the undead man.

"Hey you!" This attracted USN's attention as he looked at Alucard with a tilted dead. "You're dead, you little bad man!"

The vampire rushed and threw a right hook, making the fat man stumble. He glared at Alucard and spewed out his projectile vomit, straight into Alucard's mouth. Alucard gagged and started spewing out the same thing back at USN.

JNPR and Ruby already got off the sleigh, leading the civilians out to spare them of the madness. Ozpin sighed and kept sipping on his mug, a bit disappointing. _"Is it just me, is everything that just happened...seem forced?"_ he thought to himself.

Once everyone was gone, Nora took out Magnhild and roared, charging right at USN.

"Hoonh?" uttered out the once dead man. He saw Nora pounce right at him, her hammer raised up high. He responded in kind...by spewing out his projectile vomit. Again.

Nora wasn't able to react in time and was slammed into a street lamp. Nora groaned out loud before stiffening, her entire body now frozen. Ren saw this and grew angry. He jumped at USN and went for a dive kick. Expecting it to hurt him... it instead pushed right into his stomach, cartoon-style.

USN grabbed Ren's leg and began thrashing him around, much to the Lie's surprise. The vampire couple shifted their weapons into its respective gun modes. Jaune raised his hand and brought it down, the two of them pulling the trigger.

USN slammed Ren one final time, leaving him in a slightly deep Ren-shaped hole. He turned to his right, being peppered with Blessed Dust bullets. They kept it up, pushing the creature back into a wall. Jaune and Pyrrha turned their weapons back into their bladed form and charged in to slice and dice USN.

They were pushed back by the sudden projectiles shot right at them. Christmas ornaments, to be precise. They were blasted at them so quickly, they didn't get a chance to block them. USN roared and vomited at the couple yet again, freezing them in place.

Ruby used her Semblance to get behind USN. She raised Crescent Rose and prepared to impale the ghoul straight in the head, only for its head to spin in a 180 angle, both shocking and surprising here. And it was enough to make her faint and allow USN to spread his _**white Christmas**_ all over Ruby.

Now, it was just Alucard and USN. Ozpin didn't really count, because he wasn't doing anything besides sip from his mug. Alucard looked at his former soldier, a twisted grin on his face.

"So, how are we gonna do this? Are you gonna come at me? Should I come at you? Should we come together? Hmm, at the same time?"

USN didn't respond, instead preferring to stare at the vampire. Alucard released his restrictions up to 1, his grin becoming far more twisted. He raised his hand and ran at the undead creature.

 **"Oh you'll come. They always come!"**

USN roared and started running as well. At the two met in the middle and both threw out a punch at the same time. The resulting effect was their arms exploding in a shower of blood. Alucard's wound was quickly enveloped by dark matter and it surged right at USN.

The dark matter shaped up into blade-like structures and pierced right through the ghoul. USN stared at his opponent for a moment before exploding into a blanket of white mist, escaping from the matter, as well as healing himself up, apparently. This baffled Alucard.

 **"Wait, he's also a fucking ghost. What the fuck?!"**

Alucard shook himself out of his stupor and charged back. He regenerated back his hand and cocked it back to stab the man. USN exploded once again into mist, evading the attack. It surrounded against Alucard, who was starting to growl in annoyance.

 **"This is starting to get fucking annoying! You know what?! Let's get this over with! The author's just making shit up as he goes, and I don't like it anymore!"  
**

Alucard roared loudly, causing the ground below him to start shaking. He looked at the mist and inhaled deeply. USN started to get sucked in and panicked. He tried to retreat, but his fate was inevitable. Alucard gobbled up the ghoul spirit and burped out an eyeball. He looked right at Ozpin, still clearly pissed.

 **"Hey, Oz! Do me a favor and watch over my daughter and friends? I need to go out for a walk! CrimsonAXZ's writing is is pissing me off!"**

Ozpin chuckled in amusement as he took another sip in attempt to hide his smile. "Breaking the fourth wall again?"

 **"Well, considering the fact that he's still trying to write this bullshit, yes! So, if you'll excuse me, I'm off!"**

And with that, Alucard dashed away. To probably try and kill me. Ozpin shrugged and just sat down inside of the sleigh, watching his frozen students.

"Honestly, it wasn't THAT bad. It could've been better, yes. But it doesn't matter. This was supposed to be but a non-canon chapter done for the lolz." Ozpin raised his mug to us and gave us a smile. "Merry Christmas everyone. Have a happy holiday."

And he took one final sip from his mug and crushed it with his bare hands, because why not, you know?


	16. Before the Storm

**Seeing how it** **'s the Holiday season, I'd thought I'd be in the giving mood. Happy Holidays to all! Read and Review!**

* * *

Alucard stared at the setting sun with a peaceful look. He never really understood why, but sunsets seem to always give him a sense of tranquility that not even Aphrodite could give to him.

"Figured I'd find you here." spoke up a male voice.

He didn't even need to break away from his gaze to know Anderson walked up to his side. The Night Crawler released a grunt and spoke to his holy nemesis.

"Is there something you needed from me, Anderson? I'm too busy watching the sunset, so make it quick."

The priest nodded. "Aye, there is." He crossed his arms and joined in watching the sun set. "I had a dream, or a premonition most likely, from the big man Himself up in Heaven. He gave to me a warning."

* * *

 _Anderson wandered and wondered. He wandered aimlessly, curious as to why where his current pace would take him. And he wondered why his surroundings were nothing more but a large blanket of white space._

 _"Where the bloody hell am I?" he mused to himself._

 _The priest stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes. He felt another presence in the realm besides himself. He wasn't alone. Bayonets popped right into his hands, immediately crossing them together as_ _he_ _slipped into a defensive stance._

 _"Whoever you are, show yourself! Stop being a coward and come face the weapon of God!"_

 _He certainly didn't expect to be met with a chuckle, which then started to resonate. The same voice ceased its laughter and spoke to Anderson._

 _"As expected of My most devout servant."_

 _A bright light beamed down in front of the Catholic, causing him to instinctively shield his eyes. On_ _c_ _e the light had dissipated, Anderson uncovered his sight. What he saw greatly shocked him._

 _In front of the Paladin was the Father of the Brother Gods, the one_ _that creat_ _e_ _d_ _Remnant so His Sons_ _could_ _roam. Anderson fell to his knees, performing the Sign of the Cross as he clasped his hands together and bowed his head._

 _"My Lord and Savior..."_

 _The Father God raised his hand, motioning for Anderson to put himself at ease and stand. Anderson did as he was told, but kept his head down._

 _"I...am unworthy to be in Your presence." trembled the priest._

 _The deity allowed a smile to grace his face. He shook his head and placed his arms behind his back. "Nonsense, Anderson. You've done many great things in the name of My Sons, and I." He lowered His head, a frown on His face. "Although, I did not come here_ _for_ _that. I come bearing a warning."_

 _"A... warning?" tentatively asked Anderson._

 _The Father God nodded his head. "Yes, a grave one to be precise. The creations of My Son, the Brother of Darkness, grow stronger than ever without its proper leader. The Grimm Queen, however, has plans to exploits two maidens to cause chaos in one of the kingdoms humanity and Faunus kind has created to further fuel the sinful creatures."_

 _Anderson did not know what to say. He could only utter one word. "...What?"_

 _"She intends to use a maiden of fire to sew the discord of distrust among the mortals, and the maiden of thirst to sew horrific fear within their hearts. What I want, is for you to prevent these from happening at ALL costs. But if you were to fail, then you MUST prevent further casualties!"_

 _Anderson nodded, his face filled with conviction. "Of course. It will be done, Great One. It WILL be done."_

* * *

Alucard crossed his arms in thought as his rival finished recalling his dream. "A maiden of fire and a maiden of thirst? Now who could they be?"

Anderson crossed his arms as well, wondering as to who the two people the Father God was referring to. Both of their minds drifted to two certain ladies from Beacon and almost immediately, it clicked.

"You don't think...?!" asked the blond in surprise.

The vampire softly chuckled as he uncrossed his arms. "Yes, I do think. There's a large chance that He is referring to them." He and his nemesis looked up, as the sun had finally disappeared, with the moon taking its place.

"If that's the case," started Anderson. "Then we need to warn them and to be careful of what could happen."

The crimson garbed monster nodded in agreement. "But of course. The false maiden is still among us, and who knows what the Nazis are up to."

As Alucard was about to leave, Anderson stopped him to say one more thing. "I just thought I'd let you know something." The Paladin faced his rival's back with a serious look on his visage. "There was an attempted break-in in the Vatican yesterday. We found no traces of the fucker. And whoever they were, they tried to steal the Nail of Helena."

Alucard looked surprised and hummed in thought. "That is troubling, to say the least. We'll need to be beyond careful."

Anderson nodded. "Aye. You're right." He looked back at the moon, full of worry. A frown overcame his lips, starting to wonder what else was in store for them.

* * *

The crowd cheered wildly, the moment they have been waiting for has finally arrived. The one-on-one finals was here. At the center of the arena stage was Yang, Penny, Mercury, Pyrrha and four other competitors. Two of them were from Atlas, one was from Shade, and the last one was from Haven.

Yang stood, full of confidence. Penny and Pyrrha were smiling, looking to be very happy. While Mercury and the others were very indifferent, and instead preferred to put on their professional faces.

Port formally announced the start of the finals and looked at his fellow commentator. "Barty, why don't you explain the rules?"

Oobleck nodded. He adjusted his glasses and happily obliged. "Ah, it's quite simple, Peter. Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place!"

"Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare!" added in Port, remembering his young and fun-filled days.

"Ah, yes, yes! Now, let's see who our first match will be!" said Oobleck as he pointed right at the screen.

The roulette began spinning to determine who will be the first ones to fight. From every corner in Remnant, everyone watched with baited breath. Even Salem and her faction were watching.

Cinder smirked, having already set the match up with what limited control she had over the system. She stood up, already knowing of the outcome. Or so she thought.

The roulette stopped, Port announcing the first set of fighters. "Mercury Black and Yang Xiao Long!"

The other fighters stepped off the arena, giving the two room for their match. Yang's friends, JNPR, RWBY, SSSN and CFVY were all cheering for her. The middle part of the entire stage rose, accompanied by a ring of spotlights, lighting it up.

For this match, there would be no environment to take advantage over. Just a plain and simple arena to fight on. Yang faced her opponent and smirked right at him. "Better not go easy on me." she advised, the simple words also laced with threat.

Mercury laughed, a dark undertone in it. "You wish." he simply said.

The two faced the crowd, giving off their show smiles. With that out of the way, they faced each other and slipped into their respective fighting positions. The two seemed to circle each other, wanting to psyche out the other.

As soon as Port finished counting down, the fight immediately began. Both fighters threw an attack. Yang went with a punch, while Mercury spun and went for a kick, the two meeting up in a clash.

The both of them were pushed back, but Mercury recovered in an instant and dashed towards Yang in an attempt to kick her. However, Yang managed to dodge by leaping over him and quickly shot at him with Ember Celica.

Mercury spun around it, also using this action to get in closer. He tried to throw a couple of punches, all either blocked or parried by Yang. The blonde saw an opening and got the first hit in by punching Mercury's stomach.

The silver-haired male did a few back flips to recompose himself, with Yang firing some Dust shots at him while he was busy. Mercury smirked and used his nimbleness and agility to dodge each one, and went for an axe kick.

Yang grinned discreetly and caught Mercury's leg, surprising him. She twisted the limb around slightly, before pulling him and clocked his face, with her gauntlets set it into its burst range form. The blonde roared as her fist connected with Mercury's cheek, sending him flying straight out of the ring, taking off a sizeable chunk of his Aura.

In the stands, Walter chuckled, amused at the power he placed into Yang's weapons.

Mercury gritted his teeth, nearing ring out. He stomped his feet mid-air and launched himself back into the ring. He rolled over to get himself standing and charged at Yang, sending out a flurry of kicks accompanied by silver blasts.

Yang cocked Ember Celica and automatically set it into its standard setting. She launched out blast after blast, nullifying each one Mercury sent. The male knelt down and hummed, thinking of a plan. He smirked and ran towards the blonde.

He let out a battle cry as he went for a dive kick, surprising Yang, hitting her straight on the stomach. He quickly followed it up with a set of consecutive kicks and sent her flying. Mercury chuckled and calculated where Yang would fall and jumped up, going for a hook kick.

Mercury's boots connected with the back of Yang's head, sending her on the edge of the ring. The Blonde Brawler grunted, pushing herself up. She cracked her neck and charged back it into the fray.

The two began exchanging kicks, until Yang surprised Mercury with a quick sucker punch, sending him stumbling back. Yang dashed in and followed it up with a series of jabs to the guy's stomach, ending it with an uppercut straight in the chin.

Yang ran up to the falling boy and cocked back her arm to deal another blow, only for it meet with Mercury's boots. Mercury smirked and launched out a blast, stunning his opponent. The silver-haired male back flipped, having recovered from the onslaught, and charged right back at the blonde.

Mercury launched another axe kick at the stunned Yang, making her stumble. He quickly followed it up with a reverse roundhouse kick, and went for a flying kick, Yang's body skidding against the floor.

"Time to finish this." he mused out.

Mercury started shooting out barrages of silver blasts, gathering it all around him. He got onto his hands, and started doing Capoiera styled kicks, aiming to shoot out more. He spun around a few more times and jumped back onto his feet and thrust his arm left arm out, pointing right at the blonde.

"Take this!"

Every blasts converged and dive bombed towards Yang. The blonde clicked her tongue and opened her eyes, noticing the projectiles coming right at her. She couldn't dodge it in time, and so she instead crossed her arms and legs together on instinct.

Mercury cocked his head, as a huge cloud of dust kicked up from the impact. He spun around and dusted off any specks of dust on his person. But that was when he took notice of the Aura levels.

Yang was still in the fight.

The cloud of dust erupted into a blaze. Mercury turned around, seeing Yang already activate her Semblance. He didn't even got a chance to react as Yang threw a right straight at him. Mercury stumbled and feebly went for a kick. It was parried, with Yang dashing in and circled around Mercury, giving out quick jabs to various positions on his body like a boxer. Yang jumped up and launched a punch that sent Mercury bouncing off the ground. She grinned and spun around her arm and cocked it back. With the gained momentum, Yang launched her punch and hit Mercury straight in the head.

Mercury's Aura briefly rippled and promptly shattered upon impact. He was sent flying and landed on his back with a loud thump. The buzzer sounded, ending the match. The crowd stood and loudly cheered as Mercury's portrait darkened, with Port announcing Yang as the winner of the match.

 **"Yang Xiao Long wins!"**

 **"What a way to start off the finals, wouldn't you all agree?"** added in Oobleck.

Yang's friends cheered loudly, as Yang flashed everyone flashed a peace sign. With that she started walking away, her Semblance still active. Mercury pushed himself up and hid a smirk on his face.

"Not yet, Blondie! It's not over yet!"

In the stands, Jaune instinctively brought up his Third Eye, noticing a foreign Aura was washing over Yang. Pyrrha did the same, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Alucard grunted and stood up to leave.

In Yang's perspective, Mercury pounced right at her and went for a kick. Yang scoffed and brought up her gauntlet to block the attack and retaliate with a straight hook straight to his leg. As she landed the hit, she heard something shatter.

Meanwhile, in everyone else's perspective, they saw Yang punch Mercury straight in the knee while he was getting up, with no Aura to protect him. Everyone gasped in shock as Mercury fell back in pain.

"My word!" shouted Port in complete surprise.

Oobleck faced one of the cameraman, telling them to cut the feed.

* * *

At Mt. Glenn, Grimm could feel the negativity in the air. A few of the groups were attracted by it and quickly hurried over to the source.

* * *

Mercury wailed hysterically, letting out a few tears as he cried in pain. Emerald was by his side, trying to comfort him. Meanwhile, Yang was surrounded by AK-200s, their rifles raised, ordering her to stand down. The blonde seemed to ignore them, as her attack on Mercury kept replaying on the screen.

A pair of medics quickly rushed to scene to examine Mercury's wounds, however before they could do that, a dust shot launched them back. Everyone gasped in shock, seeing Yang's arm was stretched, looking like she had just thrown a punch.

The AK-200s quickly reacted, releasing the safeties on their weapons and fired off several warning shots around the blonde.

 **"Stand down, Yang Xiao Long!"**

Yang slowly lifted up her head, her face blank of any emotion, which served to unnerve those in the audience. She crossed her arms loudly roared, letting out a blast fire that sent the robotic soldiers flying. Yang's eyes became a bit darker, her teeth bared. She went off in a dash, heading towards Mercury and Emerald.

The two looked terrified as Yang neared them. Fortunately, the blonde was stopped in her tracks a by a bayonet embedding itself in front of her. A couple of more dropped down and surrounded her, making her curious. Before she could move on, the bayonets lit up and erected a barrier around her.

Yang growled and bashed her fists against the bubble, which had no sort of effect. The crowd grew even more fearful, with Yang acting like a rabid beast. Her friends looked on with concern, wondering what's gotten into her.

A flutter of holy scriptures fell down and circled around the barrier. Yang stopped, looking at them with curiosity. The pages dispersed, revealing Anderson. The Paladin dismissed away the barrier and placed his hand on Yang's head, giving her a gentle smile.

"Calm down, young one. For you are forgiven." His eyes glowed white and started chanting. He brought up his unoccupied arm and began performing the Sign of Cross on the blonde. "Through the Ministry of the Church, may God give you pardon and peace. And I absolve you through your sins. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Yang's eyes fully opened, glowing the same color as Anderson. Her mouth opened and out came a black mist, accompanied by a shrill cry of pain. Everyone winced in concern as the time passed by, Yang's cries seemed to grow louder.

A moment later, the glow in both Yang and Anderson's eyes died down, the former falling down into the latter's arm. The Iscariot Priest softly frowned and looked at the entire audience, giving them a reassuring look.

"There's no need to worry. This young lass is practically harmless now." He looked at the medics, who had just now picked themselves up, with a withering glare. "Well, what the bloody fuck are you two waiting for?! An invitation?! Get the lad on that stretcher and get him to a bloody hospital!"

The paramedics shakily nodded and gently placed Mercury onto the stretcher. They nodded at each other and rushed out, with Emerald following suit. Anderson grunted and walked off the arena, still carrying Yang.

Pyrrha and Jaune communicated through their link, conversing about the spectacle that they had just witnessed.

 _ **"There's no doubt about it. Emerald used her Semblance on Yang."**_ theorized the redhead.

 _ **"Agreed. She must've influenced her to think Mercury was attacking, forcing her to act in self-defense. Probably to stir fear inside of everyone."**_ mused Jaune. He strummed his chin, being bothered by one detail. _**"Although, there IS something that's on my mind."**_

 _ **"Well, out with it."**_ ordered Pyrrha. _**"What's bothering you?"**_

Jaune crossed his arms and was about to reply, until he was pulled out of his thoughts by Ren, who had shook him by the shoulder to gain his attention.

"Hey, Jaune. The tournament's been postponed temporarily."

Jaune looked around, noticing everyone was filing out of their seats. The blond shook his head and shot Ren an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I was talking with Pyrrha. Let's meet up in our dorm."

Ren merely nodded, and the two of them walked off to their destination.

* * *

The paramedics rushed towards the air docks, one of their fellow paramedics called out to them, with an ambulance behind her ready to take flight. The two loaded Mercury in, Emerald coming with, saying how she didn't want to leave her partner's side.

The two paramedics nodded in consent. The ambulance took off from the Colosseum. Inside of the ambulance, Mercury was still groaning in pain, hysterically looking at Emerald.

"Doc, tell me, am I ever gonna walk again?"

Emerald was not amused and smacked him by the arm. Mercury instinctively hissed in pain and rubbed his arm. He glared at his partner, his leg revealed to be actually a metal prosthetic.

"Hey! What's your deal?!"

Emerald just groaned in pain, putting a hand over her forehead. "Ugh. Headache. I couldn't handle manipulating two minds for a long period of time."

"I'll bet." agreed Mercury. "Must've been a pain tricking those idiots into thinking my leg was broken and bleeding."

"It doesn't matter."

The two of them faced one of the paramedics who took of their hat, revealing a smirking Cinder. She threw it away and sat down victoriously.

"The both of you performed marvelously, with special mentions to our driver, of course."

The driver chuckled and looked straight. It was Rip. She looked at her comrades and grinned. "That was fun! Let's head out for some Mickey Dees. My treat!"

Mercury leaned against the wall, a small smile on his face. "So, think it worked?"

Rip's grin turned maniacal as she looked back on the wheel. "Let us find out, ja?" She flicked open a switch, a screen lowering down, showing one of Vale's news network, being reported by Lisa Lavender.

Despite the feed being cut off, a large majority of the news networks still managed to catch footage of Yang "breaking" Mercury's leg. Dozens of tourists were openly shaming Beacon and its headmaster for letting in a student who was seemingly possessed by an angry spirit. And that they should've helped her out from the start.

Rip changed the channel, a Valean official was requesting for any near by Huntsman to aid in the suppression of sudden Grimm activity, which had spike due to Yang's action. Mercury smirked, arms crossed.

"I'd say it worked." he laughed out loud.

Although it didn't really shatter Yang's reputation, it was enough to cause the Grimm to stir. Rip looked to her left, noticing the near-by building.

"Ooh! Here we are~ What do you all want?"

The three looked at each other and shrugged. Hey, free food.

"I'll have a Mickey Rib and Mickey Flurry with a Sepip." hollered out Mercury.

"Just a Big Mick and a Cola.'" spoke up Emerald.

Cinder tapped her chin in thought, before finally deciding on her order. "I'll have a BBQ Bacon Burger, a larger order of fries, an orange soda with no ice and a piece of hot apple pie."

"Dafuq?!" exclaimed both Emerald and Mercury, who's eyes widened at the large amount that their boss had just ordered. Meanwhile, Rip was laughing, getting the reference. The Nazi wiped away the tears in her eyes and flashed Cinder a thumbs up.

Mercury looked at Cinder, quite incredulous. "Monty, boss. If you were that hungry, we could've just deep fried you an entire goddamn cow!"

Cinder shrugged, looking at her nails. "That's what I had for breakfast."

Emerald and Mercury looked at each other, quite uncomfortable that someone like Cinder could eat a lot, yet seem to not gain any sort of weight.

* * *

 **The Next Day**

Anderson had placed Yang in her dorm room, wherein her team and Team JNPR were also present. The blonde had finally recovered from the "exorcism" that Anderson performed on her.

Ruby was the first to her side, looking at her with worried concern. "Yang, are you alright?" she asked.

Yang looked at her little sister and flashed her a reassuring smile. "I'm okay, Ruby. Don't worry about it."

Blake walked up to her partner, sitting right beside her, having the same worried look. "What was that?"

"That is what we would like to know."

The nine heads in the room turned around, seeing Ironwood standing right outside the room, accompanied by two AK-200s. The General walked into the room, approaching Yang with a look that says, "You're in big trouble". Ironwood quirked an eyebrow, now face-to-face with Yang.

"I know he was an enemy, but you should've restrained yourself! Your actions have led to the people losing their trust in Beacon, and now the Grimm are acting up." He sighed and looked at the blonde with a hint of regret. "I'm sorry, but I will have to place you on house arrest, and as well as remove you from the tournament."

"What?!" shouted out RWBY.

Before Ironwood could explain himself, Alucard phased through the wall, his arms crossed, and his eyes closed in concentration. He grunted and looked right at Ironwood.

"How like you to jump to conclusions without any evidence. To try and appease the public instead of ignoring them." The Night Crawler shook his head as he uncrossed his arms. "I suppose we never told you of Emerald Sustrai's Semblance; which was Illusion. She was manipulating Yang's mind to make her think she was being attacked as to force her to retaliate."

Ironwood grew a bit angry and grabbed Alucard by his collar, pulling him close to his face. "And you didn't even think to inform me of this?! We could've created preventive measures!"

"Could've is the key term, Ironwood. There's nothing more we could've done. Anderson did the best he could to alleviate the negativity."

Ruby piped up, looking very curious. "Oh yeah. What DID happen earlier?"

Anderson silently chuckled and pushed back his spectacles. "It's quite simple, really. I made it look like Yang wasn't acting on her own, and that she was being controlled by a malevolent spirit. So, I 'exorcised' it to lower everyone's worries."

Ironwood nodded, a bit thankful for Anderson's contingency plan. Nonetheless, he was still a tad angry. "Even then, she broke his leg and-"

"Actually," interjected Jaune. "That might've been faked."

"Explain, Mr. Arc." ordered the general.

Jaune nodded. "After Yang dealt the blow, I noticed something off about Mercury. That's when I realized I didn't see, or smell that one thing I should've: blood. If his leg WAS broken, there should've been blood, but there wasn't."

"But how can that be?" asked Ironwood. "There's no possible way his leg should be intact after Ms. Xiao Long's attack."

"Maybe he has a prosthetic leg?" suggested Nora. The hammer maiden sputtered once everyone's eyes were on her. "I'm just saying! If it was faked, maybe his leg was already broken and was replaced with a prosthetic."

"That's...a good point." said Blake. "There's no way flesh and bones can stand Yang's attack power without Aura, so you just might be right."

"Suppose that this is all right, would the public even believe it?" posed the Atlesian. "I'm sorry, but just to be on safe side, you'll still be removed from the tournament."

Yang frowned, but nodded nonetheless. Ironwood nodded back and walked out of dorm room. The blonde sighed sadly and looked up to her red-haired friend.

"Hey, Pyrrha. Win the tournament for Beacon. Alright?" she meekly requested.

Pyrrha merely gave her a toothy grin, her eyes shifting to red for a split second. "I'll be sure my first strike is for you." And with that, she strolled out of the room.

Jaune narrowed his eyes, sensing something come out from her mistress. Going with his instinct, he got up and followed her.

* * *

 **Outside of the Cafeteria**

Pyrrha sat by the window of the cafeteria and leaned against the wall, looking troubled. A maple leaf fell down right beside her, making her smile a bit. She quite liked the season of Fall. However, it was quickly overcome by her troubles yet again.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Pyrrha looked up, seeing Jaune standing in front of her. The blond offered a smile and sat down next to her. His smile didn't cease as he looked at his partner.

"You know, you're one of the first people to believe in me. You saw what others didn't. The potential in me. You ignited it, shaped it, molded it and now, I might be able to actually call myself a Huntsman, protector of the innocent. You've always been there for me, but now it's my time that I be there for you."

Jaune finished, placing his hand over Pyrrha's. The Vampire Princess looked quite surprise at her partner's action. She couldn't help but feel a warm feeling surging through her body. Pyrrha leaned her head on his shoulder, a smile now gracing her face.

"Thank you, Jaune." She withdrew her head, but closed in the distance of their bodies. Pyrrha looked at the cloud-filled afternoon sky. In all honesty, she couldn't help but feel jealous at the clouds. Pyrrha sighed and looked to her left. "It's just that, I don't think I can do this anymore."

Now it was Jaune's term to feel surprise. He looked at his mistress with a bit of bewilderment. "W-What do you mean?"

"Everything, Jaune! The tournament, my legacy as the daughter of a vampire and Remnant's Goddess of Beauty, my reputation as a Huntress, my secondary occupation as a Monster Hunter. Just, all of it! I... I can't stand it anymore, Jaune!"

Jaune lost his shocked disposition, replaced with great concern. He never saw Pyrrha this shaken up. In all honesty, it made him a bit scared. But right now, she needed him. Jaune wrapped his arms around Pyrrha and pulled her in an embrace.

Pyrrha let out her tears on Jaune's shoulder, unable to contain it anymore. Jaune tightened his embrace, wanting to comfort his mistress/partner/lover/best friend. He stroked her hair and whispered into her ear.

"Shh shh. It's alright, Pyr. Everything will be alright. I'm here for you, just let it all out."

Pyrrha continued sobbing, finally letting everything out. Jaune said nothing as he continued to comfort her, gently patting her back.

On the rooftops stood Alucard, Aphrodite and Anderson, watching the event below. Alucard sighed and walked away from the edge. He leaned against the wall and brought a hand to his face, looking worried.

"Were we...to hard on her back then? I never thought she felt this way, and we never saw it. D-Did we-?"

Aphrodite was already beside her husband, placing a worried hand on his shoulder. "Alu, please don't blame yourself for this."

Anderson crossed his arm, continuing on watching his grand-thrice-nephew comfort the daughter of his nemesis. "She's right, you know? It's to be expected the day she was born, this was her destiny. If anything, the things at fault are your prestige and popularity."

"That doesn't really make us feel better, Anderson." said Alucard, who had now become irritated.

The Paladin shrugged, not really caring. He uncrossed his arms and clenched his fist tightly until it drew blood. "I should've prepared better."

"There's nothing we could've done. What you did was the best alternative." said Alucard.

Anderson knelt down and punched the floor, deeply cracking it. "Really?! I don't fucking think so! We could've given her a warning, maybe even some sort of Aura fluctuating device. Anything! Now the entire kingdom's paranoid and I failed my God!"

Aphrodite's face became serious, but worried as well. "And if this second maiden is Pyrrha, then it's very troubling. We need to be careful during her match."

The two men nodded. They decided not to tell Pyrrha, as she had already got enough on her plate as it was.


	17. Arrival of the Storm

Pyrrha stood in the locker room, along with the other remaining finalists of the tournament. With Mercury eliminated, and Yang disqualified, only six of them remained. Pyrrha was sitting down, staring passively at the palm of her hand. She closed and opened it repeatedly on varying speeds.

Even after she had confided in Jaune, she still felt some doubt lingering. Pyrrha closed her eyes and tightly clenched her hands.

 _"No. Jaune is right. This…_ _This isn't me. Why doubt myself now of all times? I have many things that I wish to uphold, ideals to protect, friends I wish to keep safe. This is the time when I need to be strong the most. I musn't fail!"_

Resolve filled her. Confidence coursing through her entire body. Conviction erased every sort of doubt. The redheaded vampire stood up, grabbed her weapons and placed them on her person.

All heads turned when the speakers blared, calling for the finalists to head for the arena. Pyrrha bowed her head, a smirk curling up her lips. She adjusted her weapons, making sure they didn't fall, and went out the room.

The six of them were met with the roaring cheers of the crowd, as if the negativity that happened yesterday didn't really, well, happened. Pyrrha turned her head to the left, seeing her team, and her family there, cheering her on. She couldn't help but feel herself get filled more with confidence.

In the back of her mind, she thought it was weird that Ruby wasn't among them. The six of them stopped right in the middle of the arena, waiting for Port and Oobleck to announce the match-up to begin the match.

* * *

Mercury was inconspicuously sneaking in to a tunnel, clothing himself with a hooded robe. He chuckled to himself, not one person even detecting his presence. He threw the robe off his person and headed for the control room.

However, to his shock, the door burst open, sending him flying into a wall. Mercury groaned and lifted up his head. Normally, a person like himself doesn't get surprised easily. But this time, he was beyond speechless.

There stood, with her foot still stretched out, hands on her baby, as their intel called it, her face accompanied by a grin that promised pain, was Ruby Rose.

Ruby looked at the fallen man and cocked Crescent Rose.

"Oh hey Mercury, good to see you back on your feet again. Didn't think you could recover that fast." Ruby titled her head, letting her innocence take over for a moment. "Wait, is that what Yang meant when she mentioned most guys can recover in an hour or two?"

Ruby dashed back, dodging Mercury's foot. She spun around and swung her scythe, forcing Mercury to flip over, placing them on opposite sides. The gray-haired male gritted his teeth, slipping into his stance.

"How the hell did you know I was gonna be here?"

The Rosette shrugged and balanced Crescent Rose on her shoulders. "Eh. We just took a guess, and I volunteered because, why not? Besides," Her grin came back as she took hold of her weapon. "it's not like I don't have any sort of back up."

Before the prosthetic user could even ponder what she meant, he was immediately barraged with kinetic blasts, coming from the shadows. Mercury nimbly dodged each one, using a mixture of acrobatics and his natural agility.

Mercury clenched his hand in irritation, watching as Yang stepped into the light and by her little sister's side. The blonde cocked Ember Celica, staring at the male with a look of disdain. Yang cracked her knuckles, a grin starting to form.

"I am SO gonna enjoy this!"

Mercury slipped his foot back as the sisters stared him down. Before the two could make a move, their attention moved to the muffled voice of Port.

 **"It looks like our first contender will be Penny Polendina from Atlas! And her opponent will be Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!"**

Mercury fully expected for Ruby to be horrified, but yet again he was surprised. Much to his shock, Ruby looked at Yang, a grin on her face. "Ooh, Pyrrha vs Penny. Who do you think is gonna win?"

Yang responded with a shrug, still not parting her gaze at Mercury. "My money's on P-money; polarity and all, you know?"

"Maybe. But who know? Maybe Penny will win."

This both infuriated and flabbergasted Mercury. _"Dammit! Just how compromised are we?! Emerald better trick that Nikos bitch into killing that android!"_

Ruby and Yang chuckled at Mercury's face, quite enjoying it. The two of them quickly rushed towards the silver-haired male grunted and flipped over them. He spun around rapidly kicked, sending out silver blasts at the sisters.

Yang responded in kind, canceling out the attacks with her own. Ruby smirked and blurred right next to Mercury and swung her scythe. He reacted and parried the weapon with a kick. He dashed in and landed a few kicks on the Rosette's stomach.

Yang jumped over her sister and hurled a punch, striking Mercury by the cheek. The blonde followed it up with a series of punches to his stomach and ended it with an uppercut. Ruby recovered and shifted Crescent Rose into its sniper form. She took aim and shot Mercury straight in the head, sending him back.

Mercury growled and used his gun-boots to recompose himself. He wiped his mouth, glaring at the two sisters.

"Well, the two of you just pissed me off. Let me show you just how much I was holding back yesterday."

* * *

Down in the ring, Pyrrha and Penny were already present, the other fighters having vacated it. The exuberant female placed her hand on her hips, smiling in excitement. "Sal-u-tations, Pyrrha Nikos! It's an honor to finally meet you."

Pyrrha smiled back, absentmindedly twirling Akuou around. "The pleasure is all mine. Let's try to have fun in our match."

Penny eagerly nodded. "Ab-SO-lutely!"

The two slipped into their battle stances, Oobleck beginning his countdown. Everyone watched with anticipating, ready to see what the two girls had to offer.

Ironwood was in the front seats, curious as to how their latest project would fare against the 'Goddess of Victor'. He stifled a smile, not wanting to admit that he was excited for the fight as well.

Oobleck smiled and finished his countdown, starting the match.

Penny flicked her hand to the left, her blades suddenly appearing, circling around her. The ginger-haired female thrust her hand forward, commanding her weapons to volley at Pyrrha. The redhead smirked and charged right into it, swerving around the swords at the very last seconds. With nothing more to block her path, Pyrrha pressed on forward towards Penny.

The blades flew back, returning to Penny. Pyrrha wasn't able to reach the ginger as she was forced by a rising slash from Penny's blades. The two clashed weapons, Pyrrha managing to cancel out each strike from Penny and get in a jab. Penny pushed herself back, re-gathering her blades and launched them at Pyrrha consecutively.

The redhead deflected the first one. She flipped over the second one. But she wasn't able to react to third one, forcing her to let go of her weapons. Now vulnerable, Penny moved in and begun her attack.

* * *

Yang gasped as Mercury buried his foot into her chest, before launching her away. Ruby managed to strike Mercury on his back, before following it up with a few more consecutive slashes, ending it with a downward slash.

Mercury gritted his teeth. He spun around and began his retaliation, sending out dozens of silver blasts. Ruby spun forward and disappeared in a blur of red petals, dodging the projectile attacks. Mercury managed to calculate where Ruby would stop and shot right there.

Ruby, however, managed to react in time and canceled out the shot, turning back Crescent Rose into its sniper form and shooting at the blasts. Yang had finally recovered and sent out another barrage right at Mercury. The gray-haired male launched himself up to the ceiling, easily avoiding the attack. He kicked himself off, dive bombing towards the sisters.

Ruby grinned and aimed at Mercury with Walter's upgrade and shot. Mercury kicked the side of the wall, thinking he could dodge it. But much to his bewilderment, the shot followed his direction and struck him on the shoulder, slamming him to the wall.

 _"Dammit. They're actually starting to hurt me. I actually might need to-"_

He cut himself off and jumped up, darting to the left as Yang struck where he was. Mercury got onto his hands and started spinning, shooting out silver blasts, gathering them around him. Yang quirked an eyebrow, seeing the familiar tactic.

 _"Can't let that happen."_ thought the blonde.

Yang rushed in, using her gauntlets to hasten herself. She jumped through an opening and cocked back her hand, ready to punch the traitor to mortal kind. Mercury gritted his teeth and pushed himself back, evading Yang yet again. He looked up, seeing a few blasts still gathered up.

 _"Crud. Guess it'll have to do."_ Mercury snapped his fingers, the blasts redirected themselves and dive bombed towards the sisters. With them distracted, he spun around retreated. _"And that's my cue to leave."_

* * *

Pyrrha wildly swung Akuou, deflecting and dodging Penny's slashes. Pyrrha spun around and swerved around the blades, getting close to Penny. The redhead saw an opening and repeatedly struck her opponent, once on the head, twice on her stomach. Pyrrha swept Penny off her feet and kicked the back of her head.

Penny stomped her foot down, sliding to a stop. She summoned her swords around her and made a few gestures, splitting them apart and started spinning, resembling some sort of blasters, three of them. Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, twirling around her xiphos.

The blaster-blades began firing off Aura beams right at Pyrrha, who quickly signaled herself to get out the line of fire. Pyrrha brandished Milo and reflected a beam right back at Penny, whom promptly summoned out six more blades and directed it towards Pyrrha. The redhead merely deflected each blade, right before evading a sudden blade formation, which came out of nowhere.

The Vampire Princess looked forward, more swords coming right at her. Pyrrha nimbly jumped through the center, wherein she lunged right at Penny and struck her with a fierce jab, sending her flying. Pyrrha straightened herself up, before quickly reacting, seeing Penny charging right at her, using her blaster-blades as a makeshift jet pack.

Pyrrha jumped back and threw her shield at Penny. The ginger merely smiled and summoned more of her weapons to block the shield, along with entrapping it. Pyrrha landed and grunted in slight annoyance, before two more of Penny's swords appeared and forced her to release Akuou. As her xiphos impaled itself onto the ground, so did the swords, entrapping it.

 _"Well, she's good. For a super android."_ thought Pyrrha, clearly impressed by Penny's skill. The redhead quickly swiftly made eye contact with Emerald, the mint-haired female solely staring at her. " _Heh. Does she really think she can place me an illusion? How_ _absolutely_ _pathetic."_

Ironwood nodded, also impressed by the android's performance. _"I'll have to congratulate Dr. Geppetto for this. Penny has exceed all expectations of a protector. With this, I can rest a bit easy that we can create next generation_ _of_ _guardians without hav_ _ing_ _to risking anyone's life."_

Penny brought the rest of her swords around her, preparing to attack her opponent. Pyrrha, even without weapons, smirked and cracked her neck, gesturing to Penny with a come hither motion.

Emerald narrowed her eyes in both confusion and frustration. _"What the hell? Why isn't she being influenced by my Semblance?!"_ Emerald stood up, needing to get away from the arena. _"I need to contact Mercury, Cinder, or even_ _that psycho,_ _Rip!"_ She quickened her pace, hoping everyone was too engrossed to the fight to notice her.

With a flick of her hand, Penny commanded her swords, launching them right at Pyrrha. Many expected for the redhead to dodge or even use her Semblance to redirect the weapons away from her. But much to their confusion and horror, Pyrrha stood firm.

The swords pierced through Pyrrha's body, starting up a bit of fear from everyone, before it quickly turned to relief, as they saw Pyrrha's 'body' be nothing more but a shredded log. Penny cocked her head, confused as to where Pyrrha could've gone.

Said redhead was right behind Penny, smirking. She jump kicked Penny, making the ginger stumble. Pyrrha quickly dashed in, following it up with a series of spin kicks, forcing Penny back. The crowd's cheer grew louder, as the two fighters engaged in hand-to-hand.

Penny, not being well versed in such, threw a sloppy hook, Pyrrha blocking it and going for a straight jab to Penny's stomach and followed it up with an uppercut. The Atlesian Android recovered quick and launched a kick at the redhead's face, whom dodged it by ducking.

Pyrrha grabbed Penny's leg and slammed her down onto the ground and pinned her. Penny slightly twitched her leg, which was enough to command her blades to go for the redhead. Pyrrha was forced to release Penny in order to dodge. She looked to her left and thrust out her hand. An outline of black shrouded her arm, the same applying to her weapons and its respective entrapment. She dislodged Penny's swords and retrieved Milo and Akuou.

Pyrrha twirled around her weapon, looking at Penny with a smirk, whom happily smirked back.

Emerald let out a few curses as she took out her Scroll, dialing her team. Eventually, Mercury and Rip picked up.

"The plan failed! Pyrrha Nikos wasn't affected by my Semblance." she hurriedly spoke in a panic.

 **"What?"** spoke up Mercury in surprise. **"Dammit! We've been compromised enough as it is! How the hell are we gonna gather up enough negativity for Cinder's plan to work?"**

Rip chuckled, as she stood up from her location and proceeded to walk. **"** **W** **ell, it should've been expected, since Pyrrha Nikos is a vampire."**

"Oh NOW you tell us!" shouted the two of them, anger clearly present in their face, which made Rip chuckle.

"Oh, don't worry. I've already got it covered." She adjusted her outfit, revealed to be that of an Atlesian soldier's, and that she was in an airship. "I'm proceeding to Plan B. The two of you sit tight, and relax yourselves. I've got this."

* * *

Rip hung up on the two, focusing on her objective. She kept on walking, heading for the controls. She had already converted some of the men into her mindless ghouls, the only ones remaining were some AK-200s and a few more Atlesian soldiers.

She entered the brig, one of the AK-200s immediately noticing her and it took aim.

 **"Halt! Unauthorized personnel are not allowed. Identify yourself."**

With that, the others quickly took aim and surrounded Rip. This made her laugh, but it did not gain any sort of reaction from the robotic soldiers.

 **"We repeat. Identify yourself."**

Rip grinned right at them, her face blocked by a shadow, her teeth and glasses shining brightly. She reached up behind her and grabbed her most valued weapon; a musket. She twirled it around, the AK-200s releasing the safeties on their guns. When Rip settled on playing around with her musket, the android foot soldiers fired.

Rip giggled, easily blocking the gunfire with her musket. She spun around and simply aimed at a random AK, her grin becoming more wider. The Nazi woman pulled the trigger and shot out a bullet, which left a trail of blue light.

The poor AK-200's head was struck, dispatching it quickly. Much to the others confusion and shock, the bullet changed trajectory and hit against another android. Rip laughed and repeatedly reloaded her gun, firing out more, easily shredding every robotic guardian.

"That was fun!" happily cheered Rip.

More AK-200s rushed out, blades sticking out of their forearms. Rip looked at them, a bit intrigued. She approached one and struck it with her musket. The AK responded by striking her across the chest. Rip looked very annoyed and repeatedly smacked it with her musket, right before ending it by blowing off its head.

She threw her musket upwards dodged all of the attempted slashes against her person. Rip raised her arm up, catching her musket. She spun around and fired a bullet, which changed it direction and pierced through every AK-200 in the chest. Their circuits lit up for a moment, before all of them fell down.

Rip's demeanor changed, no longer having a grin. She walked up to the control room and busted down the door. She was then met with dozens of guns aimed right at her, the soldiers looking at her with a heated glare. Rip scoffed and whistled.

The Atlesians muttered in fear and shock as they saw their comrades, now undead, slowly walking up to them with a hungry look. Rip smiled at the ghouls and gestured to the frozen soldiers.

"Here is your meal! Go on, dig in!"

Rip walked further in to the controls, ignoring the cries for help, and shouts of agony. She scanned the panel, looking for something, until she discovered it. A USB port. Rip grinned and pulled out a USB given to her by Schrodinger. She inserted into the port and laughed triumphantly.

One of the ghouls, who had actually retained his common thinking due to his turning being consensual,walked up to the blue-haired vampire and saluted her.

"Ma'am. We've eliminated everyone. This airship now belongs to Millennium. What is our next objective?"

Rip looked at the man and grinned maliciously. We will be driving this thing straight into another airship and cause it zo go haywire and make it crash into the Amity Colosseum!" She pressed a button on the panel, pulling up a screen of the still on-going fight between Pyrrha and Penny.

Rip threw off one of the half-eaten soldiers out of the seat and sat down. Her grin never disappeared on her face as she twiddled her fingers.

"Get ready my ghouls. Soon, we will be launching 'Operation: Kamikaze!'"

* * *

Pyrrha stared down Penny, who stared back. Their Aura levels were on the Yellow Zone, Pyrrha's having slightly more than the Penny's. The redhead charged in, her arm shrouded by a black outline. She thrust her arm out, Penny's swords within in her line of sight.

Penny struggled, trying to resist Pyrrha. The ginger stumbled forward as Pyrrha wretched control from her swords. The Vampire Princess gathered the swords around her, almost in the same manner as what Penny was doing. She smirked at her opponent in a friendly way as the swords stopped at her sides.

"What are you gonna do now, Penny?"

"It doesn't matter, friend Pyrrha! With or without my swords, I am combat ready!"

Pyrrha smiled, quite happy at what response she was given. With a flick of her hand, the swords launched right back to its owner. Penny smiled and ducked, jumped or spun around her weapons, evading them.

With them now out of Pyrrha's range, Penny took back control restarted her attack. Pyrrha back flipped to the left, Penny attempting to do a sweeping sword. She raised her shield and deflected back the ginger's strike. Pyrrha raised Milo, in javelin form. She took aim at Penny and threw it with expert precision.

Penny assembled her swords into a shield, blocking the javelin. Penny began doing all sorts of hand motions, her swords following each command. While she was distracted, Pyrrha retrieved Milo back to her hand.

* * *

Back in the ship, Rip snapped her fingers, her grin becoming wider than it should it be.

"Begin Operation: Kamikaze!"

The ghoul who retained his brain saluted the Nazi and took control of the steering. Rip stood up and walked towards the hatch of the airship and opened it up. She laughed maniacally and looked at the mindless ghouls.

"Danke, everyone! And now, I'll be leaving all of you to your own, because fuck you and your lack of privileges!" With that, she jumped off. She spun around, seeing the airship smash into another airborne one. Rip laughed madly, seeing the two wrecked ships crash, heading straight for the Colosseum.

* * *

Pyrrha and Penny ran at each other, ready to meet in yet another clash. Before the two of them could strike each other, the destroyed ship crashed into the side of the Colosseum, killing a lot of the audience members with the full brunt of the impact.

Everyone murmured in fear, getting out of their seats to get away from the morbid and horrifying sight. Oobleck stood up, shouting for the camera men to cut off the feed. "Broadcast, what are you doing?! Kill the feed!"

"We can't! Something's wrong with the cameras! W-We don't have full control of the broadcast!" replied someone from the other side.

The spiky-haired professor's eyes looked shocked and afraid. He met with his colleague's eyes, just as shocked as he was.

"What? But how on Remnant is that possible?!"

Behind the two of them, a screen popped up, showing sort of symbol. But a minority of the people recognized it as the Swastika. The people muttered to themselves wondering what was happening, before the symbol turned to static and was replaced with a silhouette of the Major, the same symbol still raised behind him. Ironwood gritted his teeth and slammed down his fist.

 _"Then the upgrades to the firewall weren't even necessary?! The attempted 'infection' of the CCT was nothing more but a smokescreen. We were too complacent. We thought we got them figured all out. They played us like a damn fiddle!"_

 **"Let me assure each and every one of you** **\- This w** **as not an accident.** **This w** **as purely intentional. My comrades and I roamed the entire** **w** **orld. We've seen every** **th** **ing. Every fighting** **th** **at is started by such petty reasons; Love, greed, honor, revenge, yadda yadda yadda. But** **th** **is? Oh** **th** **is is all part of a grander scheme."**

Every Scroll broadcasted this feed, unable to watch anything else. From the comforts of home, to the streets of Vale, the fairgrounds, Ozpin's office and even in Beacon itself were forced to watch it.

 **"** **W** **e do not seek power.** **W** **e do not seek control.** **W** **e do not seek resources. Nein.** **W** **e only seek conflict and** **W** **ar! Sorrow, sadness, grievance, horror, fear, fright, anger, aggression, arrogance, guilt,** **a** **nd regret!** **W** **e are but purveyors of** **w** **ar** **;** **Grimm-made human. Why be content with simple pleasures when you can bask in** **th** **e GLORY of fighting! Bathe in** **th** **e blood of your enemies, and feel pure satisfaction!"**

Anderson silently chuckled as he moved, his men already getting into positions. Meanwhile, Integra, Walter, Alucard and Aphrodite were leaving, heading for their personal Bullhead to head straight to the where they think the source of the conflict will be.

 **"Be honest, all of you. Can you really trust one another? It's innate for human or Faunus to be evil. Trust is nothing but a fragile concept** **,** **easily faked and easily broken. Your kingdoms** **left** **you all in** **th** **e dark, refusing to inform you of** **the** **dangers** **th** **at lurk around** **th** **e world.** **Th** **ey all think** **th** **at all of you can be tricked, ruled with an iron fist. So now, let me ask you all one question; can you really trust the ones up in the food chain when** **th** **ey are the ones who feed you to** **th** **e predator?"**

The Major chuckled sadistically, waving at the screen.

 **"Achtung und auf Wiedersehen, alle zusammen.** **Long live the** **Grimm!"**

With that, the feed was cut off, turning to nothing but static. Oobleck banged his fist against the table, looking very much irritated. "The feeds are all jammed. We can't get a message out!"

Port stood up, demanding to the technicians on what was going on. All of a sudden, the sound of an alarm attracted everyone's attention inside of the Colosseum. The screen lit up yet again, only to display an orange screen, flashing the word 'CAUTION'. A synthesized voice then sounded out.

 **"Alert: Incoming Grimm Attack. Threat Level: 9. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner."**

Everyone began to panic, shrieking in fear. This would then intensify as some of the civilians in the crowd jumped in and started biting into the necks of others.

The Huntsmen, Huntresses and AK-200s standing guard in the entire area quickly reacted and drew their weapons, charging in to stop the crazy bastards. Ironwood quickly reached to his communicator, barking out orders to kill every hostile in sight.

Pyrrha and Penny stopped and stared, looking at each other. Pyrrha grinned and jumped off the ring and charged into the fray. Penny gathered her swords and followed suit.

One of the Huntresses struck the cannibal civilian by the side of the head, forcing off his hat. The Huntress gasped, seeing the man's sharp rows of teeth, pale skin and the insane look on his eyes. The Huntress took a step back, mostly confused and a bit horrified.

"W-What the fuck are you?!"

The ghoul chuckled and menacingly stared at the female. "What's the matter with that look? You would be so much prettier if you JUST smil-urk!"

A blade protruded from the throat of the undead man, gurgling as his own blood choked him to death. The Huntress blinked as she felt blood splash on her face. There stood a nun, holding the katana that stabbed the ghoul's throat. She looked around, seeing dozens of men assisting everyone, Anderson most obvious of all.

The most well-known priest laughed maniacally, enjoying as he hacked through the ghouls. The men of Iscariot shot at all undead without any sort of hesitance. The Huntsmen and Huntresses gathered their wits, letting go of any fear in their bodies as they attacked the enemy.

The students rushed out, heading for air docks. Without their weapons, they wouldn't be of much help to anyone. A loud screech attracted some of their attention, mostly the Faunus, due to their sensitive hearing. The students looked up and gasped in shock, seeing a giant Nevermore was perched on the top of the arena's force field, repeatedly pecking at it.

"How did it get past the kingdom's defenses?!" asked Sun in shock.

"Looks like that thing brought friends." noted Nebula, seeing that there were more flying Grimm incoming.

* * *

Ozpin gripped his cane tightly in anger as he saw Vale start to get ravaged by the Grimm and Ghouls. The doors to his office opened, Qrow and Glynda arriving. Before any of them could speak, Ozpin beat them to it.

"Get to the city!" he ordered. When the two of them didn't move, he slammed down his cane, looking fierce and intimidating. "NOW!"

Ozpin picked up his Scroll, dialing a group conversation with Ironwood, Integra and Anderson. Fortunately for him, all three picked.

"How are you on your ends?" he asked.

Integra casually smoked her cigar, walking up to her men, the entire Hellsing militia present with Pip and Seras on the front, Torchwick and Neo among them, and saluting her.

"My men and I are ready. We're heading to Vale for deployment. Once we've reached our LZ, we'll wipe these bastards off the face of Remnant."

Ironwood gave him a nod. "I've already contacted the ships and ground forces to attack every Grimm or anything that doesn't remotely look human or Faunus."

Anderson grunted and showed him the state of Amity Colosseum. It was littered with dead bodies, either undead or human or Faunus, it didn't matter. That was when the most unpredictable thing happened; Amity Colosseum began dropping down to the ground. Anderson growled, making a guess the Grimm did it.

"Not looking so good here, Ozpin. The whole thing's falling down! We might not make it..."

Everyone who hasn't managed to retreat to the airships hung on to whatever they could, bracing for impact. Ironwood and Anderson hung up, causing Ozpin to hang his head in shame and anger, worrying for their safety.

Integra remained silent and closed the call, but not before giving the headmaster her parting words.

"You've lived a long life Ozpin and made a lot of mistakes. Are you willing to add this one to that long list?"

Ozpin stared at his blank Scroll, clutching it tightly. He made a decision. He slammed down his hand onto his desk, his eyes filled with conviction. He would not allow this kingdom to fall!

* * *

Blake, Weiss and Damien regrouped having already called out their weapons and started attacking every Grimm they saw. Damien's weapon, or weapons on technicality, were hook swords. He wielded them with efficiency, slicing through the hordes that came at him.

The three of them momentarily stopped to look up in shock and awe at what they were seeing. About a dozen zeppelins sailed through the air, looking harmless at first. But that's when it started to fire out missile upon missile at random building structures. Along with the explosives were ghouls, dropping down to feast on the remains.

Damien gritted his teeth, getting angry at the abominations.

"These fucks dare call themselves vampires? They're not even close to what a real one is!" he grunted out as he decapitated a ghoul that tried to pounce him.

Blake flipped over a charging Ursa and headed towards a pack of Beowolves. Blake raised Gambol Shroud and hacked through the Grimm with ease, especially with the enhancements Walter gave it. A few of the ghouls rushed at her, carrying guns. They stopped and and went into positions, before opening fire at the three.

Weiss casted a Glyph, blocking the bullets, Damien spread his wings and flew out of danger, while Blake just brought her weapon up, a black outline glowing on her blade, and easily reflected back to the ghouls. Blake twirled around Gambol Shroud, a smile on her face.

"I really have to thank Walter for infusing my weapon with Gravity Dust."

Bullheads arrived, scattering across the entire area. At first, the three of them thought they were friendlies until they saw the mark of the White Fang emblazoned on the side of the airships. Blake looked down, clenching her hand. Weiss noticed her teammate's change in demeanor and grew a bit worried.

"Blake, are you sure you can do this?"

The Belladonna looked up, nothing but resignation and determination present in her eyes. "The White Fang has become a threat against Remnant. I'm just glad I strayed away from their path."

"Good." complimented Damien. He twirled around his bloodied hook swords, watching as the Faunus started dropping down, assisting the invaders and shooting at the innocent. "Scum that drags the innocent down for their own selfish goals deserve to die... No offense meant, Blake. Since, you know."

"None taken. I wasn't offended at all."

The three of them went back into their battle stances, brandishing their respective weapons as the incoming horde charged right at them.

* * *

Integra marched back and forth, her men standing tall and firm, awaiting their orders. The leader of Hellsing stopped and stared right at them with a fierce look.

"For so long, we have existed as a group that deals with the supernatural. Today is no different. Race, beliefs, it doesn't matter. What does is eliminating the enemy - the Grimm, Millennium, and the White Fang. Stick to your groups, follow protocols, help out the civilians and raise hell against these fuckers who dared to abandoned their homes for power!"

Everyone saluted the woman out of pure respect. The hatch of the Bullhead opened up, Integra nodding her head at it.

"Now go, and do as you are told!"

The forces of the Hellsing Militia saluted her once more and started filing out of the airship, dropping down into the battlefield. Roman adjusted his arm, smirking in excitement. He and Neo nodded at each other and jumped out, letting a whoop as he fell. Pip nodded at his employers and held hands with Seras. The mercenary and vampiress jumped out of the Bullhead, following their comrades.

Integra shook her head in amusement at the duo's antics. She quirked an eyebrow as Alucard stood at the open hatch, staring down below as the wind blew against him.

"Already tempted to jump out, are you?"

"Heh. Of course not. Just looking down, it just fills me with excitement!"

Integra chuckled and walked up to Walter, who had donned a black version of his outfit. The butler had a smirk similar to that of Alucard as he clenched his hand. Aphrodite was at the far back, playing with her blade-whip.

She was wearing her old Huntress outfit, which simply consisted of a black lace crop top. Over it was a red leather long coat with chain belt designs. A combat skirt to match accompanied by pantyhose and combat boots. Aphrodite pushed herself off and whipped her weapon around, itching to get in to a fight with the enemy as well.

"It'll be just like old times!" spoke up the the redhead, her face very much filled with glee.

Walter and Alucard chuckled softly, remembering said 'old times'. They stopped and stood patiently. For now, they will have to wait till they reach their destination.

* * *

Somewhere in the middle of Vale, the Amity Colosseum had fallen, not harming any civilians, fortunately. Inside of the arena, the entire structure was filled to the brim with Holy Scriptures, courtesy of Anderson in attempt to cushion everyone against the impact.

The Angel's Dust recalled them back, looking at everyone with a concerned gaze.

"Everyone alright? Any concussions?"

All resounded with a positive grunt, making Anderson nod. He took notice of Ironwood, who was on his knees, staring at the ground with a look on his eyes. He walked up to the General and held out his hand. Ironwood stared at Anderson for a second and nodded. He accepted the hand helped himself up, clasping each other in a tight grasp.

Anderson drew back his hand and walked up to the exit, surveying the carnage that has befallen Vale. Meanwhile, Ironwood resumed barking out orders to his men stationed across the entire kingdom. Anderson frowned as bayonets popped into his hands. He twirled them around and clashed them into a cross, reciting one of his favorite verses.

"If anyone does not love the Lord, Monty Oum. Let him be accursed at His coming, God save you from your fate. Amen."

He drew them back and looked at the still unarmed students, giving them a fierce gaze.

"Call up your lockers and get yourselves armed. These bastards declared war on the world, and we're hitting them back!"

The students took out their Scrolls, dialing in their lockers to call upon their weapons. The Rocket Lockers crashed right into the stadium, landing right in front of each respective callers. The present students lined up, staring down at the approaching Grimm horde. Anderson walked up to the middle, the Iscariot Organization surrounding them. Anderson didn't look at the group, but spoke to them.

"There's a high chance that you'll die, so I have only this to say - May the Lord be with you!"

"And with your Spirit!" was the general response by everyone.

Anderson nodded and turned to look at the katana-wielding nun. "Yumie! Lead the children to victory, I'll be heading for the epicenter of this storm!" With that, the paladin dispersed into a flutter of scriptures and headed for its destination.

Yumie stepped up to the middle, her hand right on the sheath of her katana. "Remember, you all have a chance of dying today. Settle your affairs now, confess to your crushes, ask for forgiveness, say your last goodbyes. For now, we are all under one banner, and that is the banner of God! If you want to live, then come, and let us destroy these filthy heathens!"

The entire group roared and charged out from the Colosseum and into the war zone with only two things in mind; beat the enemy and drive them out of Vale.


	18. The Storm Rages On

All students faced off against the Grimm, dispatching them all with little trouble as the civilians ran away in terror. The more experienced ones dealt with the ghouls; namely JNPR, Penny, Ruby, Yang Port, Oobleck, the Iscariot Organization and some of the present Atlesian soldiers.

The AK-200s all fell in line, firing away at the oncoming Grimm horde. Most of the human soldiers met up with the unarmed civilians, escorting them away from the ensuing chaos and into the the evacuation zones that have been set up.

In one corner, Team SSSN were dealing away with the Grimm coming right at them. Sun and Neptune rolled out of the way as a Griffon swooped down, trying to grab them. The two nodded at each other and shot down the giant avian Grimm, causing it to crash down into a burning stand. Sage and Scarlet covered each other's backs as they slaughtered every creature of darkness that approached them, easily beating them off.

FNKI and NDGO stuck together, having a co-op against the incoming horde of Ursai that neared them. ABRN and CFVY went back-to-back, making sure that no Grimm got pass their line of sight.

Yumie blitzed through the Nazis, cutting them down like their bodies were made of nothing but butter, easily killing them all with her blessed katana. Some undead soldiers attempted to pounce her, but they ended up with a head a shorter. Blood splashed onto the nun, but she gave it no attention. She wildly swung around her katana, reducing the bodies to nothing but chunks. Yumie grunted and flicked off the stains on her weapon, continuing on to kill more monsters.

Jaune roared and swung Nigrum Mors upward, releasing a wave of holy energy against the ghouls, burning them to complete ash. Jaune spun around and raised his shield, blocking the rapid gunfire. Ren ran out from behind him, blasting away at the undead. The Nazis didn't expect the sudden attack and got shredded down like Swiss cheese.

From both sides, ghouls rushed towards Ren, their bangs fared, their teeth ready to be sunk into his neck. The two ghouls jumped and prepared to bite into his neck, until a grenade both gagged their mouths, much to their surprise, and blew them up. Nora giggled and winked at her boyfriend, who rolled his eyes and smiled right at her.

Nora ducked under a more rabid Nazi and smacked it across the face with her hammer, sending it flying towards a squad of ghouls. The projectile ghoul slammed against his comrades, causing them to fall down. Nora grinned, using this opportunity and shot herself towards their. She raised Magnhild high up and brought it down. Hard. The ghouls now nothing but bloody paste.

Pyrrha was in a slightly euphoric frenzy. All the doubts that clouded her mind, that filled with second thoughts, everything that wasn't cleared up with her talk with Jaune was completely washed away by her slaughtering of these ghouls. She hacked and slashed against the ghouls that dared block her path. The Vampire Princess spun around and threw her shield right at a mob of undead, slicing off heads, arms or even torsos. Pyrrha used her polarity to call back Milo, using it block an Ursa's bite.

Before Pyrrha could strike the Bear Grimm, Ruby beat her to the punch by decapitating it. The Rosette buried her scythe into the ground and started firing at an oncoming horde of Grimm and ghouls. Ruby took out her precious weapon and charged at the enemy with a war cry. After her first encounter with the undead, she took heed of Alucard's words and focused simply on killing them all.

Yang, having already been hurt enough by her earlier fight with Mercury, had her Semblance activated, obliterating the charging Beowolves with ease. The blonde was a bit frustrated that Mercury escaped her and Ruby's noses, and so she was letting off some steam by pummeling the Grimm in oblivion. Which kind of also helped attract more Grimm, but who cares? More dummies to smash.

Ironwood led his men, acting as the last line of defense. The General narrowed his eyes, watching as an Alpha Beowolf tore through his men, luckily it was just figuratively as the Grimm more accurately smacked them all away. He grunted and walked up the rabid Grimm, pulling out one of his favorite weapons - the Tornado-6, modeled after a decommissioned army revolver, used by his mentor.

For some odd reason, Ironwood started spinning around his gun, showing off gun-slinging tricks beyond comprehension. One of the soldiers took notice and shook his head, unknown if it was either in amusement or exasperation.

"Oh God, General Ironwood's getting into his 'Revolver' zone."

"Let the General have his moment. Last time he got to do this was when he was still a Major under you-know-who."

The Alpha neared the General and pounced, only to be shot straight in the face, pushing it back. Ironwood roared and and pulled the Beowolf in with his right hand, swinging it around with sheer strength, before lifting it up and slamming it down hard. He whirled his revolver for a few times and aimed right at the head, shooting it point-blank. He pulled away his weapon, frowning at the evaporating Grimm.

"You're pretty bad." he muttered.

Another Alpha prepared to pounce on the general, before exactly eight blades pierced its body. Ironwood turned around, seeing Penny smiling at him. She recalled her blades and commanded them to spread, stabbing every Grimm near-by. Penny flipped and used her remaining blades, turning it into its blaster mode and shot at a horde of ghouls at the far back.

Penny landed softly with a thud, being met with a smile and a hand gesture from Ironwood.

"You're pretty good."

* * *

Somewhere, at the borders of Vale, Maxwell was assisting the forces of Atlas against the seemingly unending horde of Grimm. Back then, when he was a child, he had resolved himself to be recognized as God's greatest servant through his words. But as he grew up, he realized that actions spoke much more louder, and so decided to become a paladin instead of a regular priest.

Maxwell roared and slammed down his palm onto the pavement. Rays of light zigzagged across the ground, going up to a group of Creeps. The light shot up and wrapped around the lizard-like Grimm. Maxwell clenched his palm close, the light forcing itself upon the Creeps, burning them to ash.

A flock of Nevermore shrieked, gaining the attention of everyone. The Light of Axis narrowed his eyes, observing how the lead Nevermore was far bigger than its regular size.

 _"It probably absorbed more negativity, leading to its 'change'."_ Maxwell grunted and cocked back his hand, gathering Holy energy. _"But it doesn't matter! These heathens will fall all the same!"_ Maxwell threw the ball of Holiness right at the flock, just at it descended.

The Nevermore was hit straight in the face, disintegrating into vapor. With the flock distracted, the soldiers and paladins shot down the remaining flock, causing them to crash down onto its fellow Grimm, hindering their approach.

But it didn't completely stop them. Goliaths charged forward, stampeding, stomping on their fellow Grimm without a care. Maxwell clicked his tongue and released an arc of Holiness. It hit against the elephant-like monsters, burning down the armor, leaving them all vulnerable for the the gunfire.

* * *

Heinkel spat out her lit cigarette as she charged forward, straight into a mob of ghouls. She brought up her guns and started firing at them wildly. The mob was quickly mowed down, with the help of from her fellow Catholics.

A Boarbatusk was spinning right at them, going in for an attack. Heinkel gave it its attention and shot at the Boar-like Grimm. However, the bullets deflected against its skin, irritating the blond. She brought up her foot and slammed it down, stopping the Boarbatusk in its tracks. Heinkel carefully aimed at the curled up Grimm and fired, ending its life.

Heinkel neared the barrel to her lips and blew away the smoke. She spun her weapons around and pulled out the magazines, reloading them. She cocked the gun and took notice of Ozpin running off towards the direction of Beacon. She quirked an eyebrow, quite curious. Heinkel faced her fellow Catholics and gave them an order.

"Defend this point, and make sure to help evacuate any civilians you spot! Now, may the Lord be with you!"

"And with your spirit!" they sounded off, saluting her.

With that, Heinkel took off, following the headmaster.

* * *

Anderson roared, throwing his bayonets with precision at every unholy thing he could spot; whether Grimm or Ghoul, it didn't matter. They were dead. He raised an eyebrow as about fifteen soldiers from the White Fang barred his path. The paladin grunted, bemused and unimpressed.

"I'm giving you all a chance - Get out of here and out of my way, or stay in my line of sight so I can rend your flesh with my blade. Your choice." he uttered with dead seriousness.

A ferret Faunus scoffed and released the safety on his gun. Soon enough, his brother in-arms followed and took aim at the Paladin of Many Names. Anderson shook his head, looking at them with one expression; pity.

"You've chosen this fate."

Saint Guillotine brandished his bayonets, signaling the mooks to fire. Anderson charged right at them, unaffected by the hail of gun fire. He jumped at the group of Faunus and mercilessly attacked them. He moved like a savage beast, attacking with the ferocity and effectiveness of one. Anderson impaled the ferret Faunus straight in the gut, pulling out his blade and slashing him upwards.

The Paladin of the Iscariot Organization moved on to his next three victims and impaled their bodies with his bayonets. One foolish mook tried to attack Anderson from behind. It would prove to be his undoing. Anderson turned around and grabbed the man by the throat, choking him. He grunted and punched the Faunus through his stomach. Anderson grunted and pulled off the corpse on his bloodied arm.

The remaining grunts turned tails and ran for their lives, now filled with fear. But Anderson didn't show them mercy. He threw a few bayonets in their path, stopping them dead in their tracks. Anderson rushed in and decapitated them all with one blow.

Anderson grunted as more blood splattered onto his person. He shook his head and sighed.

 _"Not all of them went with that fate by choice. Some were forced into it. May their souls know rest."_

More ghouls and Grimm approached, some of the former now supplied with bazookas. Anderson smirked and faced them, some of the Altesian soldiers and his own men from the Iscariot Organization coming in to back him up. The blond priest brandished his bayonets, flicking off the blood stains on it as he grinned at the Grimm. The Grimm growled, the ghouls loaded their launchers with rockets.

Both sides roared and charged.

* * *

Blake, Weiss and Damien kept on cutting down the White Fang mooks that stood in their way, well, the latter did that mostly. The ground slightly quaked, throwing the two ladies off their balance a bit, while the incubus kept himself straight. They looked up, seeing a Paladin being piloted by a White Fang grunt. Blake looked to her around and saw that there were three more Paladins coming from other directions

"They still have those?!" shouted out Blake in surprise.

"You'd think with Torchwick on our side, they wouldn't have any more of those, huh?" commented Weiss.

Damien clashed his hook swords, glaring at the mecha. "It doesn't matter. Like every other foe, we bring it down!"

Gunfire hailed from behind them, causing the three to turn around in surprise. Atlesian Soldiers rushed out and went to positions, firing at the large mecha. The bullets bounced off, the Paladin mostly unaffected. Weiss cast a Glyph below Damien, boosting him up. The incubus let out a war cry and blitzed right at the one in front of him. With the boost from his love's Glyph, he easily sliced the mecha to bits.

More Fang grunts surrounded the two ladies, who looked at them with a confident smirk. Blake and Weiss rushed against them, easily throwing them off and beating them away. Weiss looked at Blake, who nodded. The two spun around and released a blast that sent the rest flying. They turned around, seeing Damien tear up the third Paladin, the soldiers gunning down some ghouls that approached.

The two of them were about to go in and help, when they took notice of a Bullhead spiraling out of control, crashing down. An Alpha Beowolf jumped out of the airship and crashed down, chasing after innocent civilians. Blake and Weiss exchanged looks, the former nodding.

"I'll take care of that. You go help out Damien."

Weiss nodded and ran off to the opposite direction. Blake went after the Beowolf. She stopped right outside the cafeteria, scanning the area. The Alpha leaped onto the walls and hung right onto the edge, letting out a guttural roar. Blake prepared to jump after it when a scream of pain attracted her attention, coming from inside the cafeteria. She looked inside and gasped in horror. There inside the burning area was a certain bull Faunus who just impaled an Atlesian soldier straight to the heart.

"It can't be... Adam?!" she shouted in sheer horror and surprise.

Adam turned around, looking straight at her with a sadistic smile. "Hello, my darling."

* * *

Both sides kept on fighting, spilling blood after blood until they heard a Bullhead fly in.

Everyone momentarily stopped to see which side it belonged too. The hatch opened up and someone jumped out. Those with eyesight far better than the average one managed to make out who it was.

It was the Night Crawler. The Son of the Dragon. The Vampire King. Vlad Tepes III. The Impaler. The CrimsonFuckr. And his most recent title; Alucard. The ghouls started to mutter to themselves while the Grimm seemed to whine in fear.

No one spoke a word loudly. No one moved an inch. How could they? One of the most fearsome monsters to live was right there in the middle, a grin plastered on his face. Alucard chuckled, surveying the area around him with glee. Aphrodite, Walter and Integra all fell down behind him, weapons at the ready.

Walter cracked his knuckles, his wires springing to life. He looked at the undead and Grimm with a sadistic smirk, before he was stopped by a quick hand motion from his friend. Alucard faced Integra, who looked back with a questioning look. Alucard knelt down, deep onto the ground, his grin becoming even more diabolical.

"Order me as you will, my master! I am but a humble weapon ready to be unleashed uncontrollably! Give the word and I shall do as you ask! Shall I slaughter them? Capture them? Or maybe I should go for a walk? I NEED to hear it, Integra!"

Intergra grunted and brought out a single cigar, putting it into her lips. Everyone watched in apprehension and anticipation as the blonde lit it on fire. Integra inhaled and took the cigar out of her lips, huffing out a small cloud of smoke. Her glasses gleamed brightly as she snapped her cigar in half, giving out her orders.

"Go for a walk! And fuck them right in the vagina while you're at it!"

Alucard stood up and chuckled loudly, sending shivers to practically everyone present. He stopped himself and let out a loud sigh, releasing a cold wisp of air from his lips as he cryptically spoke.

 **"When hope is gone, undo this lock, and send me forth on a moonlit walk!"**

Back in the Bullhead they've ridden, the pilot landed on top of a mostly unharmed building, carrying a certain coffin. Alucard's symbol appeared on it, materializing in blood. The coffin slowly opened up as the symbol glowed a darkly shade of red.

 **"Release Restraint: Level..."**

Everyone watched in either anticipation or apprehensive dread. Even in the Grimm Lands, Salem and her faction watched with the assistance of Schrödinger and her Grimm Seers, Major grinning madly as he thought to himself.

 _"Here it comes! I can feel it! A mighty river...a river of death! The dead shall dance, and all of hell shall sing!"_

Alucard shot open his eyes, finishing his little chant with a grin. **"Zero!"**

The ghouls screamed and acted in a panic. They fired every weapon in their possession; bazookas, grenades, rifles. It didn't matter. Alucard merely grinned as he was torn down by the weapons fired at him.

Anderson raised a hand, signaling the soldiers behind him to hold their fire.

By now, even the Grimm had acted as the Beowolves and Ursai clawed the vampire. The Nevermore swooped down and either pecked or clawed, aided by some Griffons who swiped at him. The Boarbastusks kept on charging and body rolling themselves right at the vampire.

Blood heavily flowed out of Alucard, making him laugh out maniacally. Dark matter overcame his being. No. It was more like he BECAME the matter. Thousands, if not, millions of people emerged from this sea of blood. It grew further and further, rushing out like a powerful tidal wave. It washed over the ghouls and Grimm, consuming and added them to the matter itself.

The Atlesians, the students, and even the people from the Iscariot Organization muttered to themselves as they watched the sea of blood encompass and wash out further into Vale. At the center of it all, was the most a most intimidating shadow, their eyes glowing a dark red.

Aphrodite felt her lips tug itself, a large smile dawning her beautiful face. Wings sprouted out from her back and she flew right at the figure. The shadows stepped into the light, revealing what was beneath it. A man with a thick beard and mustache, wearing heavy medieval armor with a huge tattered cloak, a long sword by his side. Aphrodite landed down in front of him and cupped his cheek as she stared at him lovingly.

"My Count."

The man smiled at Aphrodite, placing his hand over hers, loving the warmth she exuded.

The soldiers were very much clueless, wondering what was happening. Anderson grunted and cracked his neck.

"Alucard is a man made monster far beyond comprehension. You all know his various titles throughout the millennia, but there is one that has been kept hidden, that has also faded throughout time. What you see right now is the most powerful vampire to ever exist in Remnant, releasing the souls inside his body as his army! Born during the time of the Brothers Grimm, this man has lived, and killed a lot in all of his life. Gentlemen, meet Count Dracula!"

"But how?!" cried out one of the soldiers. "I thought Abraham van Hellsing killed him!"

"Imprisoned, actually." clarified Integra, who had lit up another cigar. "Being defeated by my ancestor, Alucard pledged his loyalty to us through sheer respect. Oh, and, everyone out there, please spell out Alucard backwards."

A large majority of the crowd dawned looks of realization, while a minority face palmed and groaned for never thinking of that. Dracula looked right at the Atlesian soldiers and Paladins of the Iscariot Organization with an eyebrow quirked in amusement.

"We are in a battlefield, are we not?" he spoke, having a very much heavy accent. "We fight and kill our enemies, not dawdle on such trivial matters." He unsheathed his sword and pointed it upwards. "Come! And let us finally rid these beasts out of this kingdom!"

They all sounded out their agreement and converged with the souls, charging at the remaining enemies. Walter walked up to Integra, who strangely didn't move from her place. The blonde took the cigar out of her lips and puffed out a cloud of smoke. She looked at her butler with an amused smile.

"Remind me, Walter; What's my schedule for tonight?"

Walter shook his head, a bit amused as well. "You've seven minutes till your meeting with the Knights of the Round Table."

Integra's smile turned into a smirk as she placed back her cigar into its rightful place. "Seven minutes, huh? Seven minutes is all I could spare until I have to play with them? Heh. Cancel that meeting, Walter. I'll be busy helping Ozpin defend Vale. You go out and help somewhere else that needs your expertise."

"But of course, Master Integra." bowed Walter.

With that, the two ran off in separate directions.

* * *

Ozpin ran through the ruined streets of Vale. It really made his heart ache to witness yet another destructive war, bringing nothing but chaos and pain to everyone - whether human or Faunus. He shook himself out of his thoughts and went back to focus on his-

"Headmaster Ozpin!"

Ozpin stopped in his tracks and spun around, seeing Heinkel run up to him. The bespectacled man quirked an eyebrow, curious as to why the blond followed him.

"Ms. Heinkel." he greeted. "You followed me?"

"Yes. You were alone. Thought you could use some back-up."

Ozpin nodded. "I appreciate the help." He spun around and motioned for her to follow. "Come, we need to get Glynda and Qrow."

Before one of them could even move, a Grimm was flung into a broken building, immediately disappearing. It wasn't alone as the sound of sword meeting flesh could also be heard. The two of them ran up to the corner, seeing Qrow and Goodwitch fending themselves against a squad of unarmed ghouls and Grimm.

Heinkel aimed her gun and shot all of the ghouls within their range, preferring to shoot them all straight in the head for a quick kill. Qrow and Goodwitch ran up to the duo, the former having a raised eyebrow.

"Well, what now, Oz?"

Ozpin clutched his cane tightly, and glared up to the sky. "We need to seal off the Vault. Permanently."

"What?!" reacted both agent and professor.

Qrow grabbed Ozpin by his collar, looking at him with confusion and anger. "So we're going to be leaving Amber to die!? I thought we were gonna find a way to get her back on her feet and hep her live a normal life!"

Ozpin sighed, looking as if even he didn't want this. "We've no other choice. After this whole debacle, we can excavate the vault. And if she is dead, we give her a proper burial."

Qrow growled and released his hold on the man. He sighed and nodded at Ozpin to lead them the way. Unbeknownst to them, a certain femme fatale was watching them from atop a rooftop with a curious smirk.

"How interesting."

* * *

Adam approached his former lover, if not for his visor, a look of disdain could be seen present.

" **This** could've been _our_ day. Can't you see that?!"

Adam approached Blake, who looked at him with a mixture of horror, disgusts and disappointment. She slowly backed away, slipping into a stance unbeknownst to the psychotic man.

"Running away?" sneered out Taurus. "Is that what you've turned to, my love? A coward?"

Much to his slight surprise, Blake dashed right at him and swung Gambol Shroud, forcing him to block it. The two continued their clashing of blades, sparks flying off. Blake flipped back, dodging Adam's attempted bifurcating. The cat Faunus sighed and glared at the redhead, anger now only present on her face.

"Why are you doing this?!"

"You and I were going to change the world, or did you forget that?" reminded Adam. "We were destined to light the fires of revolution, in turn, put these pathetic humans in their place! But all this? It's but a spark."

Adam raised his sword and blocked Blake's strike, the two locking blades.

"Then I'll just have to douse it out!" she grunted, trying to force down Gambol Shroud.

"Oh, my love. No one will be able to to extinguish the flame, and I'm making sure of it!" Adam smirked and pulled back his weapon and swung his weapon upwards, forcing Blake to dodge. She then quickly retaliated, trying to slash him back. Adam reflected her strike and backhanded her right into a wall. A Creeper was about to approach the fallen Faunus, when Adam shot it right in the head.

"But before that, I plan to make you suffer, my love!"

Blake gritted her teeth, her glare never wavering. "I never wanted any of this, Adam. All I wanted was peace and equality!" she declared.

Blake got back onto her feet and jumped at Adam, slashing at him. The two exchanged blows, until Blake dashed back and shifted her weapon into its gun mode and shot at the bull Faunus. Adam easily blocked the bullets with his blade, before sheathing it back.

"What you **want** is _impossible!"_ he replied.

The two closed in on each other and proceeded with hand-to-hand. Blake attempted a punch, only to be blocked by Adam, whom backhanded her. He never released her hand and pulled her in, punching her in the gut. He tripped her onto the floor and slammed her head onto the ground. Blake groaned out loud, practically seeing stars.

"And once I set upon this world, delivering the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my personal mission to kill everything you love!" declared the radical terrorist.

Soon, a certain monkey Faunus's voice came calling for Blake.

"Blake! Where are you!?"

Blake's eyes widened in horror, seeing Adam smirk sadistically. Sun came in from a broken window, kicking away a Beowolf and landed down, twirling his staff around. Adam unsheathed his blade, focusing his gaze at Sun.

"And he'll be the first victim."

"What?!"

Adam ignored her and stabbed Blake straight in the hand, causing her to shout in pain. Sun stood up and saw Adam pulling out the now bloodied blade. The monkey Faunus glared at the psychopathic animal and gripped his staff tightly.

"Get away from her, Taurus!"

"Sun...please, run!" whispered Blake.

Sun shook his head and stood his ground. Adam sadistically laughed, and made a come hither motion to the blond as he sheathed his blade. Sun grunted and charged in, ignoring his own safety in an attempt to save Blake. He leaped right at Adam, rearing back his staff. Adam smirked and drew his blade, dashing below him. The leader of the Fang's Vale branch activated his Semblance and swung his blade, slashing Sun by the back. It went through his Aura and left a large gash, immediately bleeding. But that wasn't the worst thing. Adam had also sliced off Sun's tail.

Blake gasped in shock that Adam didn't even show any sort of mercy towards a fellow Faunus. Sun fell down right next to her, growling in pain. His dismembered tail crumpled on top of a fallen piece of rubble.

"Sun! Sun, are you alright?!" asked Blake, completely concerned.

"It...hurts more than it should." he hissed out, not daring to move as he bit his tongue to alleviate the pain.

Adam slowly walked up to the two, flicking off the blood on his blade. The Taurus looked at them with a sadistic smirk. He prepared to bring down his sword, only to be struck at the chest, forcing a few steps back.

Blake craned her head and blinked in surprise, accompanied with relief, at what she saw. Adam recomposed and growled at his attacker.

"Aphrodite Nikos!"

And there indeed was Aphrodite, her hand outstretched before she pulled it back, along with her whip-blade, Agnoo. The redhead grunted and whipped a piece of debris nearby her, slicing it in half. She struck the one where Sun's tail lay, sending it flying right towards Blake.

"Get yourself and your boyfriend to safety. I'll handle this."

Blake looked ready to argue, but was immediately cowed by Aphrodite striking the pavement yet again. Blake gently grabbed Sun by his shoulders and hefted him up, carrying him away, along with his tail. Adam was about to follow, before getting struck by Aphrodite yet again.

The succubus glared at the bull Faunus and brandished her weapon.

"Never have I ever seen someone with so much anger. So much...hate. Seriously, it's like your every edgy stereotype blended together and was given a yandere quirk just for the hell of it. I'll enjoy my time killing you, you hypocritical piece of shit."

Adam cracked his neck, twirling around his sheath before pulling out his blade with a satisfying sound, pointing it right at the redhead. He didn't understand what Aphrodite mostly said, but he gathered that it was supposed to be an insult, and it infuriated him.

"I never understood why my fellow brothers and some of my fellow sisters ever see in a whore like you. I'll enjoy spilling your blood and mounting your head on a pike!"

"Hmph. My beauty only matches my skills, little boy. Underestimating me will be your downfall." she emphasized this with a stroke of her weapon, impishly grinning.

* * *

A dozen more Bullheads arrived, dropping off more ghouls. The Atlesians took aim and fired at the ships. Four out twelves sustained sufficient damage to lose control and crash against some ruined buildings. Out of the wreckage came out a nest of Death Stalkers, clicking their pincers at them menacingly.

The students weren't intimidated and readied themselves for the next wave. Nora went ahead and brought down her hammer, causing the ground to tremor for a moment. This was enough to disorient them, allowing the fighters to go in and wound the Grimm.

However, due to their hard exoskeleton, most of the bullets didn't seem to even damage the Death Stalkers, forcing the heavy hitters and explosive-users, namely Nora, to be the stars.

The hammer maiden giggled as she slammed her hammer down onto one of the Scorpion-like Grimm, disorienting it. One of the Death Stalkers attempted to jab at Nora, who quickly dodge through grenade jumping, launching herself out and also severely damaging about two Death Stalkers.

Coco ran in the front, her minigun locked and loaded. The muzzle started to rotate and fire off its more than powerful bullets, piercing through the Grimm's exoskeleton. Some of the AK-200s equipped themselves with grenade launcher for better effectiveness against their current foes.

In a matter of minutes, the nest of Death Stalkers were no more. Before anyone could even momentarily celebrate, more airships come in to view. One of the airships opened up a hatch below, missiles dropping down and headed for the center of the area, where an evac site was present.

Ironwood was the first to notice and screamed as loudly as he can to get everyone's attention.

"It's a missile! Everyone, shoot it down!"

Everyone with a gun started firing at the contained explosives, in hopes of detonating it before it could even reach its target. From below, wires sprung and ensnared the missiles, halting them. Walter smirked as he manipulated his wires, throwing the missiles as far away as possible. The butler smiled at his allies and bowed, behind him, the missiles blew up an unlucky Death Stalker that was about to unearth itself.

Walter called back his wires and looked far. The others took notice of the sea of blood, wherein the Nazis tried to ran away from, or tried to attack it. Either way, they were consumed and killed. Walter smirked.

"Looks like the others are cleaning up. Come, let's-"

 **"LONG LIVE MILLENNIUM! LEEEEEEROY JEEEEEEEEEENKINS!"**

Everyone turned around and saw a fighter jet crash down right into the evac center, blowing up the docked Bullheads, and every civilian and soldier that was inside. The resulting explosion was powerful enough to knock off everyone on their feet and away by a couple feet, separating friends and teams from each other.

Walter growled and gritted his teeth in frustration and sadness. "All those lives... gone! Damn them. Damn the Grimm. Damn Millennium. Damn them all to hell!"

Behind him, ghouls and Grimm approached him. The butler didn't even need to turn around as his wires sprang to life and surrounded the enemy behind him. Walter clenched his hands, the wires closing in and mincing the monsters.

Walter flicked his hands to the left, ensnaring a sneaking suicidal bomber, his wires piercing him through his sockets. Walter played with his choice of weapon and flung the Nazi far back, right on top of a zeppelin. The charges blew up, taking the zeppelin along with it, Walter's face still having a scowl etched on to it.

* * *

Yang gritted her teeth as she struggled. Some rubble managed to land right on top of her. The blonde cocked the gauntlet on her free arm and blasted them off, pulling herself up. She scanned her surroundings, looking for her sister, prioritizing her safety.

"Ruby! Ruby, where are you?!"

"Y-Yang!" yelled out a pained voice.

The blonde panicked and quickly went to where she heard it. Yang blew away the smoke to clear her vision. She almost wished she didn't as in front of her was practically her worst dream realized.

Ruby was buried under some rubble and debris, crushing her legs. Half of her face was burnt, with some pipes piercing through her chest. Yang quivered and fell to her knees in disbelief. She shook her head, refusing what she was seeing.

"No... No! Th-This can't be happening! This isn't real. This isn't real!"

Ruby reached out to her sister, looking at her pleadingly. "Yang. Please. End it."

Yang clasped Ruby's hand desperately as tears flowed down her cheeks. "Y-You'll live, Ruby. Y-You're not going yet. Please!"

Behind Yang, a giant scythe was raised up into the air, handled by a muscular woman, her skin like leather, a sadistic grin on her twisted face.

 **"Aw. How sad~ Don't** **w** **orry, you'll be reunited** **w** **ith your sister!"**

Yang's eyes widened. She didn't have that much tome to react and did the best thing she could; put up her Aura. Yang cried out in surprise and pain as she was flung right into a piece of debris, making it crumble to nothing but rubble. The blonde picked herself up and got a better look of the woman who had hit her.

A tall and muscular woman with dark brown skin and short, spiky hair. She stared at her with narrowed green eyes, the right side of her face and her right arm filled with tattoos. Yang stood straight, slipping into her stance.

"W-Who the hell are you? What did you to do Ruby?!"

The woman chuckled, which was strangely echoing, making it somewhat intimidating.

 **"Your sister** **wa** **s never there~** **Wh** **at you saw** **w** **as nothing more but an illusion that you fell for."**

Yang looked down in shame, the woman's words ringing in her head. _"What? I... I fell for another illusion?! That's the second time this happened?! I-"_

Yang was cut off as the woman was suddenly in front of her and buried her fist straight in Yang's stomach. The blonde gasped as the air forcefully left her body. The ginger grabbed her by the throat and slammed her down onto the streets, cracking the pavement. Yang struggled, trying to break off the woman's grip on her neck.

 **"Zorrin Blitz."** introduced the woman, nearing the blade of her scythe to Yang's face. **"Remember it, cunt!"** She raised it up and prepared to bring it down to end the blonde's life.

Yang wasn't about to give up and managed to deflect the scythe with the aid of her gauntlets. Zorrin was surprised, not anticipating this move. Yang quickly capitalized on it and sent out a kinetic blast straight in the woman's face, making her pull back her arm to soothe the burn on her face on instinct. Yang moved and swept the woman of her feet and punched her on the chest, sending her a couple feet away.

The blonde allowed herself to pant, watching as a couple of debris fell on to where she saw Zorrin land.

"Who was that?" she muttered to herself. She looked around to confirm that what she indeed saw was just an illusion. Much to her relief, Ruby was nowhere to be found. "Oh thank Oum. Ruby isn't gonna die yet."

 **"Yet being** **th** **e keyword."**

Zorrin appeared right behind Yang, her scythe raised into the air. Yang spun around and crossed her arms as Zorin brought down her giant weapon, pushing her back by a few feet away. The ginger laughed as Yang glared at her heatedly. Zorrin hefted up her scythe, leaning it against her shoulder, looking at the blonde condescendingly.

 **"** **You** **'re just a weak, little meat bag** **.** **Let me end your pain!** **"**

* * *

Ozpin and the others arrived at the vault, walking up to Amber's stasis pod. Ozpin immediately noticed Qrow's quick shift in mood. It was to be expected, given his and Amber's relation to each other.

"Go ahead, Qrow. No shame in speaking to her from a temporary goodbye."

The unlucky man didn't look at his boss, but he nodded. Qrow walked up to Amber's pod, brushing his fingers against the glass screen, looking at the wounded girl with a sorrowful look.

"Hey there, Amber. It's been a while. Sorry we haven't caught up in a while, I've... been busy."

Heinkel and Glynda couldn't help but feel sympathetic to the male Branwen. He and Amber had met once in Mistral, before meeting again in Vale. The two hit it off after a bit of frisking-related activities, and got close to each other. What was happening right now was nothing short of sad.

"I... I don't when I'll be back. But I promise, I promise you that I will come get you here! We'll go and settle down in Patch, just like you always wanted. Adopt some little rascals for you to spoil and me to have fun with. We-"

The rest was cut off as, suddenly pierced right through the pod, impaling Amber in the chest. Qrow's eyes widened in horror, as the others imitated his expression. Ozpin spun around and saw Cinder standing in the corridor, a bow in hand.

Amber's eyes shot open as she struggled to breath. Qrow acted and pulled out the arrow, trying to comfort Amber. It was all for naught. Amber's eyes glazed over as her body went limp, her breath leaving her body. The green flames that lit the vault was snuffed out, as an orange glow was released from Amber and shot straight at Cinder.

Cinder chuckled triumphantly as she began to glow with power, a trail of flame surrounding her as she floated in the air. Qrow grabbed his weapon and rushed at the Fall Maiden, anger and despair in his eyes. "You bitch!"

Ozpin stretched out his arm, trying to stop the man. "No, stop!"

Qrow ignored every sense of rationality inside him as he jumped right at the femme fatale and swung his blade. Cinder smirked and sent out a blast of energy right at the grief-stricken man, sending him sliding against the floor. Heinkel brought out her guns and fired at the floating woman.

Cinder laughed, the bullets having no effect on her. Glynda helped Qrow stand up, clutching his stomach in pain. The blonde professor was about to bring out her riding crop when Ozpin stopped her with a hand motion.

"No. I'll handle this. You three get back to the surface and help clear out the remaining enemy."

Glynda was about to argue until she saw the look on Ozpin's face. She relented and ran around Cinder, Heinkel trailing behind. The Fall Maiden ignored them as she focused all her attention on Ozpin.

"This whole time, it was right beneath our feet." Cinder growled out. She looked everywhere to claim the rest of the power of the Maiden, and never imagined that Amber would be hidden right in plain sight. Cinder's expression changed as she conjured up a fireball. "She was right about you. Such arrogance."

Ozpin didn't reply verbally, and instead brandished his cane right at the False Maiden. Right now, his life didn't matter. He would make sure that he would weaken this woman who dared conspired against humanity and Faunus-kind.

* * *

Jaune stabbed a ghoul in the head, killing it quickly as the body went up in flames. The blond swerved through the horde of ghouls, bifurcating or butchering every Nazi that stood in his way. He looked down onto a ghoul with just one arm and torso, still alive and trying to crawl away. He walked up to the undead soldier and slammed down his foot onto the head, squashing it like.

Jaune stared at the forming pool of blood under his foot and smiled. Slowly, his blue eyes started getting tinted with blood red.

 _"This is getting fun! I can see why Uncle Anderson and Alucard like do this!"_

The Vampire Knight softly chucked to himself, attracting Pyrrha's attention. The redhead walked up to her servant and raised an amused brow.

"Feeling okay there, Jaune?"

"He he heh. Everything's okay, my mistress. Just having fun."

The two looked forward, seeing Alucard, still in his Count Dracula form, walk over to them. The Vampire King looked at his daughter and softly ruffled her hair, giving her a warm smile.

"My little princess. How long has it last been since I saw you in this form? It really warms my undead heart."

Pyrrha couldn't help but feel the same, smiling back at her father. Alucard drew back his hand and stared at Jaune. The blond felt a bit nervous with how Alucard looked at him, before it was eventually dashed away when he outstretched his arm for a handshake. Jaune gladly accepted it.

"Truly, you've become a vampire worthy of my daughter. I wish you luck through your relationship, and that you may serve her well."

With that Alucard jumped back and went back to into the fray to kill more ghouls. As soon as he left, more ghouls came, rushing towards the couple. Jaune ducked under a pouncing ghoul and bifurcated their arm, right before decapitating them. He looked at Pyrrha, slightly confused.

"Uh, what was that about?"

Pyrrha flipped over three ghouls and threw her shield, slicing them in all half. She jumped towards one and kicked them right in the face, boosting her into the air, throwing her javelin straight through a line of ghouls. While she did this, she answered Jaune's question.

"Father's Dracula form has a different personality from his Count form. And somehow, because of that, his memory is a bit skewed. At times."

Jaune walked through the bullets that was shot at him and brutally killed the Nazis that fired right at him. "I guess that makes sense."

The couple looked at each other with raised eyebrows, wondering why the ground seemed to tremor, as if a giant was walking. They looked to the left, seeing an even bigger version of the Atlesian Paladin, just as big as a two-story building,mounted with turrets and shoulder-cannons. On top was the cockpit, wherein a Nazi was piloting.

 **"Behold! A weapon created by us to surpass the Atlesian Paladin! We give you** **-** **Steel Cog!"** shouted the Nazi through mech's speakers, strangely lacking the accent.

"I feel like this is supposed to be an expy of something." muttered Jaune to himself.

The Nazi grinned and pulled a level, firing missiles at the pair. Pyrrha narrowed her eyes and thrust out her hand, enveloping the contained explosives. Luckily, there was ferromagnetic materials in them, enough for her to use her Semblance. She redirected the missiles right back into the mech, making it stumble, but did no visible damage.

 **"The Steel Cog is much more durable than that lightweight A.P.! You'll have to do better than that!"**

The turrets clicked and took aim at the two, their muzzles starting to whirl. The vampire couple looked at each other, a smirk on their faces.

"Arkos?" asked Pyrrha.

"Arkos." confirmed Jaune with a nod.

The turrets began firing, Pyrrha and Jaune raising their shields to block the hail of gun fire. Slowly, the two of them took steps forward, overcoming the force behind the shots. Eventually, they started running, not deterred by the rapid fire, continuously pushing forward. The piloting Nazi gritted his teeth that the two vampires weren't even flinching at the might of his machine.

The blonde and redhead eventually made it in front of the mech. The ghoul growled, not knowing where to aim, constantly twisting the Steel Cog around, trying to point his weapons at the duo. Pyrrha took hold of Jaune's hand and threw him right at the mech's legs. Jaune transformed Nigrum Mors into its shotgun mode and shot at its joints. With the range, it loosened up the mech's legs, making it stumble. Pyrrha tightly gripped her shield, before throwing it right at the joint. The shield connected and successfully disconnected the leg.

 **"Dafuq?!"** exclaimed the Nazi, the Steel Cog struggling to keep itself standing. He growled and slammed down his hand onto the controls, which inadvertently launched a missile down to the couple.

Jaune and Pyrrha blinked, just now noticing said missile coming right at them. The projectile blew up, sending them flying, sustaining a few minor burns, nothing they can't handle. Mistress and servant quickly recovered, their injuries fading. They were about to retaliate, before noticing that they have dropped their weapons. The pilot took notice and grinned.

 **"Kaboom, you vampire wretches!"**

The ghoul pilot was about to slam his hand down onto a giant red button, which would release a plethora of explosives at a target, when the Steel Cog was barraged with electrically charged grenades, temporarily short-circuiting the entire machine, infuriating the undead man.

 **"** **Oh** **come on!"**

Jaune and Pyrrha quickly rushed in, retrieving their weapons. They quickly jumped back and turned around, seeing Ren and Nora running up to them. The two joined up with their friends, staring at the mech, which started to whirl back to life.

"Anyone up for SMASH .exe?"

Nora grinned, turning back Magnhild into its beautiful hammer form.

"Oh, I'm MORE than ready!"

Pyrrha and Ren wordlessly nodded, absentmindedly twirling around their weapons.

* * *

 _"This bitch is toying with me!"_ angrily thought Yang.

Zorrin had her arms crossed, effortlessly dodging each one of Yang's attack with a sneer. The large woman stomped her foot and reared back her fist, clocking Yang straight in the face. Before the blonde could fall, Zorrin grabbed her by the head and raised her up. The scythe-wielding Nazi grinned and started repeatedly headbutting the blonde, all the while chuckling maniacally.

Yang gritted her teeth, fighting through the pain. As Zorrin cocked back her head for another headbutt, Yang quickly activated her Semblance, forcing Zorrin to release her hold on her.

Yang roared and slammed her fist into Zorrin's gut, making the large woman gasp in pain and spat out some blood. The strength behind the punch was so strong, the air around them rippled. Yang pulled back her fist and started rapidly attacking Zorrin, with Ember Celica activated, adding more to the pain.

"Hail!" Punch to the stomach. "To!" A kick to the shin. "The!" A clock to the cheek. "Queen!" An uppercut to the chin. "Bitch!" Yang grabbed Zorrin by the throat and smashed her into the pavement, heavily cracking it.

The blonde fell to her knees, panting. The flame on hear hair ceased, signifying the deactivation of her Semblance. Yang shakily stood up, smirking victoriously at the fallen body.

 **"Heil indeed."**

Yang's eyes widened in shock and wasn't able to react quite in time with Zorrin striking her with her scythe. The Nazi ghoul maliciously grinned and grabbed Yang by the neck, forcing her to look straight in the eye. She moved her hand to Yang's face, right before gouging out the blonde's left eye. Yang screamed in pain, losing half of her sight. Zorrin pulled back her hand and gripped her weapon. She raised it up and sliced off Yang's right hand.

Yang looked at the bleeding stump on her wrist, quivering in horror. Before she could even properly give a reaction, Zorrin kicked her in the face, knocking her out. The ginger laughed, approaching the blonde.

 **"Like I've said, nothing but a sad meat** **bag** **. I will admit, you may have actually broken a rib or two. But that doesn't matter."** Zorrin raised up her scythe, ready to coat it more with blood. **"Auf Wiedersehen, cunt!"**

Zorrin prepared to impale her scythe into Yang, but was interrupted by a flying kick, courtesy of another busty blonde. Zorrin growled, grabbing her bruising cheek. She winced slightly and pulled away her hand. In front of her was Seras, standing over Yang protectively.

"Seras Victoria. Alucard's greatest servant."

Seras simply glared at the Nazi and took out her personal weapon, the Harkennon, which was basically an anti-tank rifle combined with a cannon. Zorrin gritted her teeth and decided to cut her losses, dispersing into an assortment of symbols.

 **"Another time."** speaking her parting words.

Seras frowned and re-holstered her large weapon. The blonde vampire spun around and picked up Yang, slinging the injured student on her shoulder, looking at Yang in concern.

"Don't worry, luv. You'll push through."

With that, she rushed off to the main evac center.

* * *

Walter roared in anger and unleashed his wires, slicing through horde after horde that came to him. It really sickened him to his core that these beasts continued to exist. He blinked, taking notice of an unknown approaching Grimm, behind it was another horde of Grimm following it. By appearance, it looked quite similar to an Alpha Beowolf, yet it had the two striking differences: its armor was purely crimson and it looked like its flesh was dripping, melting like an ice cream.

 _"How odd. It looks like it's unstable."_

The new, odd Grimm howled loudly, releasing some sort of gas that washed over its brethren. The Ursai and the Beowolves fell to the ground, writhing and groaning out loud. Walter watched in confusion and curiosity. A second later, his eyes widened as he saw the two groups of Grimm get up, growing bigger and spikier. It wasn't long until the Ursai turned into its Major variants and the Beowolves became Alphas.

"Unbelievable!" uttered Walter in surprise. "They've even experimented with the Grimm!"

Squawks from above attracted Walter's attention. Flocks of Nevermore approached the field, staring at Walter and the corpses that surrounded him with interest. The butler gritted his teeth in complete annoyance. He brought his wires over the newly evolved Grimm, clenched his fist and flicked it to the left. The wires pierced through the Grimm, but much to his shock, the Grimm weren't sliced to bits like usual.

"Impossible. They were able to make them much more sturdy?!"

Walter repeated his action and this time, the Grimm were killed. The Nevermore squawked and dived down while Walter was distracted. The butler dealt with the Beowolves and just now noticed and clicked his tongue, unable to act in time to defend himself. Much to his curiosity, something bright gleamed above him and zipped through sliced through the bird Grimm.

Walter grunted as Yumie appeared right behind him. The nun swiftly sheathed her katana and the Nevermore blew up into chunks. The butler craned his head, nodding at Yumie gratefully. The two looked at the odd Grimm with the intent to kill. It growled and released more of its gassy essence, attracting more of its brethren.

Yumie grinned, pulling out her katana. "Bet I can kill more than you."

Walter chuckled, adjusting his glasses. "Oh it's on."

The two charged in with a battle cry, slaughtering everything that came.

Atop a ruined building, a certain experiment was watching the two mercilessly hack away at the Grimm with a grin. He, like his creator and his creator's master, relished in watching chaos and war. Unfortunately, he won't be able to do so after accomplishing what could be his last mission.

Schrodinger stood up from his location and disappeared in a blink of an eye, heading towards the large sea of blood and souls. There in the middle of the sea stood Alucard, grinning madly as he led the charge against his enemies.


	19. Coming of the Climax

**All I can say is - Sorry about being late. Mid-terms loomed around the corner and I had to put my focus on it, And then after that was a little family reunion and I couldn** **'t exactly decline, now could I?**

 **Nonetheless, here's the new chapter! Read and review!**

* * *

Ruby coughed, trying to clear away the dust around her. The resulting explosion from the kamikaze attempt had separated her from her friends and sister. The upper and lower half of her body was buried in debris, and she had luckily not sustained any sort of life threatening damages.

However, only her head and left arm was free. Ruby tried to push off the debris feebly, but it did not budge what so ever, making her groan out loud.

"I should've listened to dad about not building up my arm strength for practical stuff, instead of just for Crescent Rose."

Because carrying Crescent Rose and pushing heavy things are obviously different. She looked around, trying to see if there was anyone near-by and cried out for help.

"Help!" she weakly shouted out.

Ruby had to block her eyes as a flash from an explosion blinded her. The debris around her crumbled from the resulting explosion. The remains were pushed off and was greeted with the silhouette of a man, chuckling at her as he offered a hand.

"Well well, if it isn't little Red!"

Ruby narrowed her eyes, trying to get used to the light. She looked up, and immediately recognized who it was. The hat was a dead giveaway.

"Torchwick?" she asked tentatively.

The Rosette accepted the hand and pulled herself up. She looked over the man's shoulder and saw soldiers of Hellsing mowing down the ghouls, allowing their comrades to go in and help the injured out, bringing them to the nearest evac center.

Torchwick looked back at Ruby, giving her a questioning gaze as he crossed his arms. "So, you got two choices, little Red - Go and evacuate with the others, or stay and fight just like the heroes in your stories."

As he said this, Neo walked up to the two of them, carrying Crescent Rose. The heterochromiac female handed over the scythe to its owner, giving her a quick nod. Ruby was quick to accept and brandished it with a flourish.

A Griffon swooped down, screeching. Torchwick jumped and met with the giant Grimm, smacking it on the beak with his cane. The dapper man brought up his A.U.R.A A.R.M and shot out a blast of Aura, obliterating the Griffon's head. Roman landed down and looked at his arm with an ecstatic grin.

"Wo ho ho! I'm liking what this is right now!"

Roman cackled and started repeatedly sent out blasts of aura at every direction, shooting at the ghouls that came within his sights. Neo joined him, using a semi-automatic Dust rifle instead of her usual Parasol. All of this put a smile on her face

Ruby hefted up her weapon and spun it around. Another Griffon squawked, attracting Ruby's attention and it was accompanied by a flock. She shifted her scythe into its rifle form and took aim. The laser sights struck the Griffons and she pulled the trigger. A blast of ice fired and ripped through the targeted Grimm, also freezing them on contact. The Griffons squawked, feeling themselves still and shatter to pieces as their bodies fell to the ground.

Ruby used the recoil on her weapon to send herself right onto the front, all the while turning back Crescent Rose into its beautiful scythe form. She looked at the oncoming horde and couldn't help but grin. Roman and Neo walked up right next to her, the former having a similar grin. He raised up his cane and aimed it right at the ghouls.

"Bet I can kill more than you."

The Rosette didn't respond, and instead dashed right into the horde, madly hacking away at the undead. Roman and Neo looked at each other for a moment, growing a bit concerned that a 15-year old girl was having fun in killing. The two then shrugged it off and joined in on the killing.

* * *

Adam grunted, continuously blocking each one of Aphrodite's attacks. The redhead was relentless in her assault, not giving the bull Faunus any breathing room for recovery. Adam saw an opening, and quickly moved it to take it. Unfortunately for him, Aphrodite anticipated it and whipped him by the leg, forcing him on his knee. The Succubus Huntress kicked him in the face, pushing him down onto the broken floor.

Aphrodite cracked her whip right by his head, intimidating him. She narrowed her eyes and stomped down on his chest, making him gasp in pain. She brought up her whip and started lashing at him, scratching his clothes and his body.

Aphrodite grunted, a bit disappointed. "Is this really it? With how much you were boasting earlier, I thought you'd be a good opponent. Right now, you're below dog shit."

The psychopathic leader growled. He pulled the trigger on his sheath, shooting out blade, surprising Aphrodite, whom jumped back on instinct. Adam jumped up and took hold of his sword, quickly dashing forward and slashing Aphrodite right at the chest. And much to Adam's delight, blood came spurting out. He laughed madly and started swinging his weapon around swiftly, further wounding the redhead. Adam sheathed back his blade, right before striking Aphrodite again, cleaving her in half.

Adam flicked off the blood staining his blade and laughed loudly, staring at the woman's bloodied two halves.

"Well, now who's lower than shit? Looks like those words all about you were just stupid rum-"

Adam was cut off as a blade whip slashed at his chest, sending him up into the air. The same whip then brought him back down, stabbing him into the chest and cracking the pavement right below him. The Taurus looked up and saw Aphrodite, unharmed.

"How the f-"

Yet again, he was cut off as Aphrodite kicked him right in the face. The Succubus grabbed him by the collar and forced him to look right at her crimson red eyes. She headbutted Adam, cracking his visor. She did it again, this time, his visor broke. Aphrodite raised an eyebrow, seeing a blindfold around his face. Adam quickly used this opportunity and bifurcated her arm, freeing himself from her grasp.

Aphrodite didn't even seem to be bothered and instead picked up her arm and attached it right back, healing up the wound. She cracked her whipped and lashed it right at the White Fang branch leader. Adam stepped back and swung his blade, destroying the blade whip. Adam thought he had gained an advantage by destroying the redhead's weapon, but he's in for a surprise as Aphrodite closed her eyes.

"I should thank you, but I won't.

Adam gasped as he felt a crushing pressure surround him. He fell to his knees, choking as he grabbed his neck, trying to breath. Aphrodite chuckled as her appearance started to change. Her red locks became wilder and longer. Her eyes shot open, turning into a dark shade of violet. The nails on her hands grew and became red, turning into claws. Her wings and tails popped out from her back, making her levitate into the air, much to her joy.

The Red Bull panted, gazing at the flying succubus. He used his weapon to help himself stand, albeit shakily. "Y-You! What kind, of sick abomination, are you supposed to be?!"

Aphrodite giggle and flicked her hand, a violet orb materializing in her palm, right before dismissing it and smirking at Adam. "Oh, you arrogant and ignorant animal. What you did helped me in the long-term. Agnoo acted as a limiter to my powers. Your destroying off it allowed me to access my full range of abilities, up to my final form. In other words - you've done goofed."

Before Adam could even retort, Aphrodite dove down and slashed the Faunus's stomach. Adam screamed loudly and clutched the forming wound, blood starting to leak out from it. Aphrodite brought up her claws to her lips and licked off the crimson liquid staining it.

"Oh? Did I forget to mention that my claws can bypass Aura? My mistake~"

Adam growled and willed himself to stand and to ignore the his injury. He pulled out his weapon and slipped into a stance. Aphrodite turned around to face him with a condescending smirk, brandishing her claws yet again.

"Not giving up? Good. It would've been boring if you did."

Adam dashed forward and managed to stab and slash Aphrodite a couple of times. The succubus smirked and merely took the attacks, right before deciding to retaliate and struck with her claws. Adam blocked each attack with Wilt, gathering the energy and storing it for later use. The Taurus roared and quickly delivered a quick and massive combo of strikes towards the Huntress, ending it with a flying kick, sending Aphrodite straight into some burring debris.

Aphrodite didn't even grunt as she flicked off the debris burying her. She casually stood up and dusted the dust off herself. Adam leaped into the air and attempted a downward stab. Aphrodite stepped back and stabbed Adam straight in the stomach. She spun around and slammed him into the ground, proceeding to a barrage of claw strikes, slamming Adam into a wall.

The White Fang's Vale branch leader groaned out in pain and slowly stood up. He pressed his hand on to his wounds, assessing the damage on his body. He shook it off and growled, his anger becoming apparent.

"What kind of monster are you?!" he demanded.

The redhead stifled her chuckle. Her eyes shone brightly as she spread out her arms, runes starting to cover her body. Adam was not affected by the light and rushed in. He jumped at right at the succubus and knocked her out of the air. Aphrodite recovered quite quickly and clashed yet again with the bull Faunus. Adam let out a war cry and performed a low sweep, and swiftly sheathed Wilt, right before unsheathing, releasing an attack that slashed Aphrodite in multiple places.

Aphrodite let out a small grunt as she fell down with a thud. Adam sneered and slowly walked up to the Huntress. He raised his blade straight in the air and prepared to plunge it right in the redhead, only to be surprised as his opponent dissipated in a cloud of red mist.

"What?!" he uttered in shock.

Aphrodite swooped down from above and struck Adam from behind, earning her a shout of pain. She grabbed him by the head and flew up into the air, spinning around and then proceeded to slam down the psychopathic Faunus, cracking the pavement. The Goddess of Beauty extended her claws and started attacking Adam like a rabid beast.

* * *

Back with Team JNPR, they were still facing off against the Steel Cog. Nora roared and brought down Magnhild, causing the ground to quake. The seismic activity further threw off the mech's balance, allowing Jaune, and Ren to move in.

Jaune grabbed Ren by the arm and threw Ren right at the giant mech. Ren latched on to one of leg and fired at the joint, weakening it. The Nazi pilot recomposed from the quake and tried to shoot away Ren. He pulled back and jumped away and right onto the other remaining leg. He cracked his neck and started hacking at the joint with StormFlower's blade.

The pilot growled and slammed his fists onto the controls in anger. **"Fuck off, you trap thot!"**

Pyrrha smirked as she ran in and activated her Semblance to thrash around the Steel Cog, slamming it around the already destroyed buildings. The pilot growled irritably as he was thrown around in the cockpit. Finally, she firmly held down the mech, allowing Jaune to do his part.

The Arc Vampire jumped at its leg and struck the already weakened joints, disconnecting it. The Nazi yelped in surprise as the now legless mech fell down with a loud thud, practically destroying the road.

Jaune landed down and stared at his friends with a victorious smirk. He quickly rejoined them, his expression quickly shifting into a serious one.

"As much as I want our team to stay together, helping out is more important. We'll split up, help up as many people as we can then rendezvous up at the evac center. Sound like a plan?"

The three nodded firmly, making Jaune smile. He and Pyrrha ran towards back to the road to Beacon, leaving the childhood friends. Ren walked up to Nora and intertwined his hand with hers. The hammer maiden smiled, causing Ren to smile back. The two of them prepared to leave, until the speakers onto the remains of Steal Cog blared.

 **"I ain't done with you fucks yet! Take this!"**

Both of their eyes widened as a missile launched from the remains and headed straight for them. Ren acted on impulse. On instinct. He knew that he and Nora didn't have time to fully bring up their Aura as to shield themselves from the blast. So, he did the only logical thing that came to mind. Ren grabbed Nora and threw her away as far as he could. Ren spun around and crossed his arms, bringing up what Aura he could and was thrown back by the impact.

"GAAAAAAAAGH!"

Ren's body slid against the ground facedown. Nora groaned lightly, and shook her head, recovering. The ginger's eyes widened, having realized what just happened. She scrambled up and ran towards Ren's motionless body. Nora gently turned him around and gasped. Horror filled her body as she saw the sight before her.

Ren's body was pierced with shrapnel in different places, his body also suffering from second-degree burns, the left side of his body burnt the most. Nora's body shook, not knowing how to properly react. The Nazi stumbled out of the cockpit, laughing in triumph.

Tears dripped down from Nora's eyes and onto Ren's body. She gripped him gingerly and sobbed out more tears. And in a split second, her despair turned into rage. Nora stood up and strutted towards the broken mech, wherein the Nazi was still inside, laughing in complete ignorance. He was certainly most surprised as the cockpit entrance was completely torn off by a pissed off ginger.

Nora threw it away and glared at the Nazi, who chuckled nervously. "Heheheheh. Uh, hi?"

The pilot yelped in fear as the furious hammer maiden dragged him out from the broken room and into the exposed war zone. The Nazi scrambled to crawl away, not wanting to die just yet. He had no real combat training. No experience in handling weapons. He was only really good in piloting mechs because of video games, and that was it. In short, he was nothing but a coward who wanted to escape death.

But death was already knocking on his door.

The ghoul screamed defiantly as Nora grabbed him by the leg and started pulling him across. He clawed at the ground, desperate to try be firmly rooted to it. But Nora was not gonna let up. She hauled him up, right before slamming him harshly on the ground. This cracked the ghoul's spine, rendering him completely immobile from the waist down. He started crying, whimpering like a little kid.

"P-Please!" he begged. "Mercy! I, I beg of you!"

"Why?" said Nora in an emotionless voice. "Can your begging heal up Renny? Can your stupid words undo the damage you've helped cause? The people killed? The buildings destroyed?!" Nora stomped down her foot onto the guy's chest, breaking his entire rib cage, making him whine in pain. "No. Of course not. You're just one of those people in forums that thinks they can do anything just because they can. The world is better off without you."

Nora took out Magnhild and smashed it down onto the screaming ghouls' head. She lifted it up, nothing but a puddle of blood left from the ghoul's head. Nora passively placed away her precious hammer and ran to her boyfriend to tend to him. She knelt down besides the burnt man and took his mostly unharmed arm, letting her tears fall.

"Please Renny... you'll be okay. Please... don't leave me."

"Hey! We got injured over here!"

Nora whipped her head around, seeing some paladins from the Iscariot Organization running in, a few of them holding some medical supplies. The one leading the group quickly went to Ren and assessed his injuries. Nora desperately grabbed onto the man, crying and pleading for him to help her Ren. Once he was done, he allowed a frown on his face.

"He might not survive long enough with what he have right now. We need to get this boy to either Father Anderson, or Father Maxwell." He turned to Nora, placing a hand over her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "Don't worry. We'll get him help. Dylaw! Azul! Get him onto a stretcher."

The two aforementioned medics nodded and quickly went to do as they were told. From out of the blue, a mob of ghouls emerged and rushed towards them. The head of the group bit down a curse and barked out orders to mow down the oncoming undead. Nora walked up with them, Magnhild in its grenade launcher.

 _"Anything to help Renny get better."_ she thought with conviction.

* * *

For what seemed like hours, Cinder and Ozpin continued to stare at each other in a stand-off. The vault was now completely overtaken by the darkness. Flashes of orange and green lit up from the shadows. It was very much obvious which belonged to which. The two continuously clashed in an attempt to gain the upper hand. Ozpin moved with fierceness, determined to stop Cinder if possible. He saw an opening and quickly jabbed the maiden with his cane.

Cinder was forced back, her feet sliding across the floor. She slammed down her hand, melting a portion of the floor. She quickly stood up and gathered some dust. With her newly obtained abilities, she transformed them into ice crystals and launched them at the headmaster. Faster than the eye could see, Ozpin deflected them all and quickly rushed in, repeatedly jabbed Cinder, right before ending it with a kick to the face, sending her flying.

"Playtime is **OVER!"** roared the femme fatale, using her maiden powers to halt herself from smacking across the wall and released some blasts of energy, all narrowly missing Ozpin. Cinder looked down on the wizard and smirked, radiating with blazing might.

Ozpin grunted and slammed down his cane, erecting an energy dome around himself to block the stray attacks. Cinder laughed and concentrated, gathering Aura in her hands to finally rid the pest that bothered her mistress through the ends of times. She let a loud cry as she released a large beam of inferno straight towards the Emerald Wizard.

 _"Time to end this!"_ thought Ozpin. He leaped into the air, his barrier still protecting him as he pushed through the attack, intent on finishing the battle with one final attack. He just needed to get closer.

Cinder narrowed her eyes and added more power into the inferno attack. But even then, Ozpin pushed through, getting closer and closer to the false maiden. Cinder growled, refusing to lose now. She channeled in a bit over maximum power and managed to destroy the barrier, blasting Ozpin straight into the wall. The bespectacled headmaster fell facedown, groaning in pain.

Cinder frowned, noticing that she had just reduced her Aura by a sizable chunk. She looked at the motionless man, and decided to bury him under his greatest failure. She conjured up some fireballs and threw them above, destroying a portion of the ceiling. The debris fell down right on top of Ozpin, giving him no chance of escape.

"This is the end of the line for you, wizard. Farewell."

The agent of Salem sauntered off, leaving Ozpin to his demise. He grunted, feeling himself bleed out and lose air due to the heavy rocks on him. The only thing that wasn't buried was his head and his left arm, which remained clutched to his cane.

 _"So... Once again, I've failed. I failed my mission. I failed Beacon. I failed Amber. I failed everyone... as usual. Is this truly my fate? To fail and fail, over and over. Never to succeed? Never... to give Salem her rest? To disappoint everyone I have promised peace? I suppose, it doesn't matter. I can never truly die. I will be reincarnated in some poor sap's body...whether I or they wanted to or not."_

Ozpin closed his eyes, ready to accept for death's embrace. However, he was brought up of his moping by an all-too familiar laughing. "Was that really it? Was that the best the Great Emerald Wizard could do?!"

"A-Alucard?" he weakly uttered. Ozpin wasn't sure if he was being delirious, or that Alucard was in fact standing before him.

"I'm thoroughly disappointed in you, Oz. You've preached so many times about achieving peace, you looked like a prophet. But how can you achieve such a thing when your actions clearly don't speak for your goals?!" he bellowed out. "So many times! So many God damn times I've seen you give up just at the last moment. It may not have been a step closer to peace, but you still let yourself be taken away!"

Ozpin couldn't help but realize that he was right. He always had given up, just as he was about to get killed because of his overconfidence, both in his skills and the cycle of reincarnation.

"Are you really going to let yourself die right here and now?! Are you really going to allow another person to unwillingly give their life away so that you can accomplish that idiotic God of Light, Monty Oum, gave you, for what? Nothing! I thought you wanted everyone to unite under one banner. To unite everyone and destroy that negativity. How can you possibly do that, when you yourself, embody those traits?! Get up. Get up, Ozpin! And show me, just what you're truly made of!"

With that, Alucard flickered away, confirming Ozpin's suspicions that he was indeed a hallucination. But despite that, it gave him the necessary energy to make his decision.

 _"Alucard... thank you. You've made me realize what a fool I've been. From this day forth, I will no longer abide by the God of Light's rules and commands. I... am my own master now. The cycle. Ends. Here!"_

Ozpin released hold of his staff and clenched his fist tightly. Although he was out of Aura, he was not out of what little magic he had left. Ozpin gathered it into his hand and chanted out a spell. **"Fiat lux mea fluxus corpus meum, et me ad guide debet. Liceat mihi, et omne maledictum eo filius qui occurrit sine dolore!"**

A green light overcame Ozpin's entire body, along with his cane. The rubble on top of him was thrown off as his body was lifted into the air. Suddenly, a portal opened up from above, and he was sent into it, off to wherever he had willed it to take him.

* * *

At the designated evac center, Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck directed the civilians and students into the air buses. Heinkel, Maxwell and Pip were present there as well, helping out some of the injured get into the transports. Qrow and Glynda were also there, making sure no Grimm came near.

"That's it, everyone. Remain calm and get on board! This is a mandatory evacuation!" called out Port, holding onto his weapon tightly.

Pip moved up to the front, adjusting his hat. "A safe zone has been established in Vale! Listen to the Atlas personnel and stay safe!" the Hellsing commander announced.

Weiss stood there worriedly. She has yet to see any sign of her team, or friends from JNPR. Damien placed a hand onto her shoulder to comfort her. The Schnee heiress smiled at the attempt and placed a hand over his. But that comfort would soon be shattered when Seras came rushing in.

"Someone get me an emergency med kit. Stat!"

Weiss's eyes widened in shock as Seras carried over Yang and gently laid her on the ground. Her shock grew into horror, seeing Yang missing a hand, and that the left side of her face was completely covered in blood.

"Yang!' she cried out in complete worry.

Qrow's eyes widened in horror. He clenched his hand tightly in pure anger, mentally kicking himself that he allowed yet another one of his family to be grievously injured.

Pip, being a bit of a certified medic, quickly went up to his girlfriend and knelt down besides the injured student. Pip gently took hold of Yang's head, assessing the damage. He checked for a pulse, and sighed in relief when he got one. He looked at the near-by medics and motioned for them.

"Cauterize her arm wound and make sure to wash off the blood inside her eye socket and apply a cold compress on it. We don't need more causalities, a kid most of all."

"Understood!" sounded off the two, getting to work in treating Yang.

Weiss couldn't help but feel awful that she couldn't do anything to help. Damien's ear twitched, hearing someone sobbing. He turned around and saw Blake carrying Sun, tears streaming down her face. He immediately spotted the light injuries around Blake, and the large slash wound on Sun's back.

"Hey! Injured incoming!"

Glynda met up with her students and helped them towards the medics to get patched up. Weiss quickly ran up to her friends, who still continued to sob as she heard Sun cry out from the antiseptics being applied, his team rushing towards him to see how he was doing.

"Blake! What happened?!"

The Belladonna didn't respond, to caught up from her own miseries. So, Weiss did the only logical thing. She wrapped Blake into a comforting hug, letting the Faunus cry onto her shoulder.

* * *

Aphrodite sadistically laughed as she threw Adam right into a pile of burnt up chairs and tables. The bull Faunus weakly groaned, feebly struggling to reach for his weapon.

"It's no use, you know?" called out Aphrodite. She watched the Faunus weakly crawl up to Wilt and Blush, desperate to attack. "You can't hurt me. You can't kill me. What difference would it make, even if you-"

Aphrodite was cut off as Adam had suddenly dashed forward, having retrieved his weapon. The colors red on him glowed brightly, accompanied by a short, maniacal chuckle. He drew his sword and sliced through Aphrodite, who looked shock. The blade hit her and pushed her into the air, right before disintegrating into nothingness.

Adam fell to his knees, using his sword as a cane of sort. He weakly laughed triumphantly, a bloodied grin on his face.

"I... have won."

"So it would seem."

A surge of pain went through Adam's body, claws having impaled him from behind. Behind him, was Aphrodite, still very much alive. The Huntress pulled back and grabbed hold of his blade. Aphrodite smirked right at Adam and snapped it in two, throwing it away in a random direction. She then forced the Taurus to face her, the smirk on her face becoming sadistic again.

"Since you were so casual about taking away your fellow Faunus' pride, then you wouldn't mind this?"

Aphrodite took hold of the horns on the Red Bull's head and tore it off, making him cry in pain. The pain would then be added when Aphrodite stabbed it right into his left arm, making it useless.

"I'm not content with taking away your pride away as a Faunus."

She pulled back her arm, before grabbing hold of Adam's crotch, making him squeal. Aphrodite cackled, twisting the bull's testicles painfully, before pulling back and ripped them both off. Aphrodite grabbed him by the collar and threw him behind her, landing on top of some debris, rubble falling on his arm. Aphrodite grunted and crushed the testicles to a bloody paste.

"Not worth consuming. You're probably sterile. Oh well. Enjoy your last days of being a bull Faunus, because you're now a steer for the remaining time you have. Rot in hell, bastard."

With that, she sauntered off and headed for the evac center, leaving Adam to die. The man gritted his teeth and looked by his left. And there lay was the remains of his sword, presenting him with a choice. Adam groaned and chose his fate.

* * *

Walter grunted with a smile as dozens of Grimm behind him were minced to black and bloody bits. The butler spread his wires throughout the entire courtyard, wherein many other Grimm stood. He smirked and clenched his hands bringing his filament wires and cut down more of the creatures of dark.

Yumie ran across the field, bisecting every Beowolf or bifurcated every Ursa that stood in her way. The nun spun her holy weapon for a quick moment. In a swift motion, she decapitated an entire flock of Nevermore, their carcasses falling down onto the corpses of the twice-killed ghouls.

The Ghoul Grimm still remained, not even injured by a bit. Yumie and Walter re-converged, quite confused as to how they still haven't killed the unstable-looking Grimm.

"That's odd." commented Walter. "How have our attacks not reached the bugger?" He was genuinely puzzled, confusion completely striking his face.

"You're not the only one who's confused. That thing should've been killed long ago."

The Ghoul Grimm howled, releasing its essence yet again. Walter clicked this tongue, readying his wires yet again. Before he or Yumie could even act, dozens of gun fire hailed from behind them, shooting down the odd the Grimm. It shrieked in complete pain as it was shredded.

Walter blinked in surprised, the cigarette in his mouth falling down. "What the-"

Ruby jumped from out of nowhere and impaled the beast right in the head. The Rosette buried it deep in further, cackling with satisfaction. The Ghoul Grimm was now still, lightly growling. She pulled out Crescent Rose and twirled around, ripping the creature to shreds.

Ruby arched back, laughing quite loudly in pure glee. Walter narrowed his eyes, quite concerned on what was happening to the young leader. Roman broke away from his squad and went up to the butler.

"Red's been like that for a while now. Don't why. She's been killing ghouls and Grimm, all with a smile on her face."

Walter's eyes widened in surprise, processing on what Roman had just informed him. _"No... could it be? Is young Ruby becoming Ax-Crazy for killing or_ _perhaps_ _something_ _more terrifying_ _…_ _a Blood Knight?_ "

Ruby stabbed her weapon into the ground, grinning madly as she shouted to the sky. "Come on! Is that all you can throw at us?! We're still standing strong, and I'm itching for a good fight! Isn't Millennium all about war?! Where are your troops?! Send out more!"

"Friend Ruby!"

Penny appeared from above, using her weapons as jet boost of sorts and headed right for her first friend. The ginger android wrapped Ruby in for a hug, a look of fear on her face.

"Friend Ruby, please desist! There are no more enemies to fight. We do not to shed anymore unnecessary blood! Calm down... you're scaring me."

Ruby's face slowly calmed down, realizing what she had just done. She reciprocated the hug, sobbing silently as tears fell down from her eyes. Yumie walked up to the Rosette and placed a hand over her shoulder.

"Don't worry. You have friends to help you out, right? Come on, let's get to the evac center."

Ruby ceased herself, but the tears didn't stop from going down, but nonetheless. she nodded. Both forces of Hellsing and the Iscariot quickly moved out, heading for the designated area for evacuation.

* * *

When they arrived, Ruby was filled with with nothing but grief. She saw Yang and Ren, both on life support. Blake and Sun were injured, heavily in the latter's case. And Jaune and Pyrrha were nowhere to be found. Ruby fell to her knees, crying once again.

Qrow ran up to her honorary niece and pulled her in for a comforting hug. Ruby sobbed into Qrow's shoulder.

 **"Heheheheheheheh."**

Everyone stopped their actions, hearing that loud chuckle. They turned their heads, seeing Alucard in his Level 1 attire, walking up to the evac center with a grin on his face. Although they knew he was on their side, it still unsettled them when he was like that.

 **"All of this fighting. All of this bloodshed. And all of the other cliche monologues I** **'ve** **heard... Hmph. It's making me quite famished."**

Anderson walked up from behind his rival, having just heard what he said. He walked pass the vampire, not even bothering to look at him. "Do you really intend to do THAT?" he asked.

Once again, Alucard chuckled. He looked quite excited, if one where to describe his facial expression. **"My intentions should be obvious by now, Anderson."** He turned around raised his arm up into the air, his symbol illuminating.

All across the damaged kingdom of Vale, the bodies of the people who were unfortunately killed and the remaining corpses of the slain ghouls, their blood all pooled together and formed a mighty river throughout the street, heading for the grinning vampire. Nearly everyone cried out in surprise, the Catholics most of all. The Axis of Righteousness was about to move in, until they were stopped by a hand wave from Anderson.

Maxwell looked at the man he considered his father with anger. "Father Anderson! Why are you stopping us?! The people that have been slain... they deserve to rest in peace!"

"Yes... I know. But this, is the lesser of two evils. Alucard is our best bet in winning the war against Salem and Millennium. Whether we like it or not, we need him beyond full strength. And if this is to help him maintain it? Then so be it."

The river of blood crashed into Alucard, whom quickly absorbed it into his body. **"You know, but this much blood might even be too much for me!"** he laughed, just at the irony of the statement.

* * *

In the Grimm Lands, Salem and her cohorts continued to watch. Doktor chuckled and pushed up his glasses.

"It seems as though everything is going all according to plan."

Major nodded, a twisted smile adorning his face. "Indeed. All the variables are finally dutifully falling into place. All that is left... is for Schrodinger to do his part."

* * *

The blood continued to flow into Alucard as everyone either watched in horror or amazement. On top of a burning church stood Schrodinger. He watched the giant boy of blood continuously move through the streets. He drew the only weapon that he had ever received - a custom-made dagger he had received from the Major, engraved with Mantle's old motto. He laughed and proceeded to cut off his own head, all the while, he maintained his glee. Both his head, and his body fell into the river, waiting to be absorbed by Alucard.

In a matter of seconds, the flow had ceased. Alucard had absorbed all of the blood. At first, he let out a soft chuckle, before it eventually blew into a laughter of triumph.

 **"Is that really all?! How disappointing! It seems you lose again, Major!"**

The Major's voice blared throughout hidden speakers. **"On the contrary, it is you, who have lost. Checkmate, Alucard, and accept your defeat!"**

 **"Defeat? Hardly. I'm stronger than I ever was! My strength has bypassed its peak. I... am unstoppable! I can never lose! Not now. Not ever..."**

Alucard gasped, feeling an unknown pain. A pain that... actually hurt him. He looked up and could only stare in amazement... an all too familiar sunrise. One he had seen through three lifetimes.

 **"This sunrise... I've seen this. I remember it, the dawn that has burn into my head. That morning, the sky looked just like this. Every time time I perish, this is what I see, and every time, I can only think** **-** **How lovely, the sunlight, which I forsook so many centuries ago..."**

As he spoke, his form rapidly shifted. From his Vlad Tepes apperance, to his Count form, and his Great War form. Alucard fell to his knees, eyes and his dark matter spilling out from his body.

From afar, Aphrodite saw what was happening and quickened her pace. The same was for Pyrrha and Jaune. The couple was on top of a relatively undamaged building, going to the roof for a better vantage point. Sheer fear coursed through Pyrrha as she hurried as well.

 **"** **This** **, is the full power of Schrodinger. By drinking his blood, you, Alucard, have become the same paradoxical cat** **that** **he** **w** **as. You are now shackled by infinite possibility... as long as Schrodinger is self-aware, he is everywhere and nowhere. However,** **th** **at conundrum has now multiplied by millions of lives and consciousness within you, Alucard. To wit, he is no longer capable of recognizing himself. You are not even alive, dead, or undead! you've become nothing... but an imaginary number!"**

Everyone could only watch in terror as Alucard started to vanish. Anderson could only growl in anger, pissed that he as well could do nothing to assist his... friend.

Integra marched through the forming crowd and yelled out to the dying vampire. "Alucard! Don't you dare close your eyes! Heed my voice! I'm giving you an order, dammit!" She fell to her knees and clenched her fist.

 **"I... cannot follow that order, Master Integra."**

The eyes that have spilled out from Alucard started to close, Alucard himself starting to feel... drowsy. Aphrodite had arrived and swooped in her husband in a tearful embrace.

"Alucard, no! Please... don't! Don't leave us!"

He could not even will himself to look at his beloved, and could only speak to her through their connection. _**"**_ _ **My d**_ _ **ear beloved, I... I cannot."**_

Alucard's head dropped down, his eyes starting to close. Closer and closer, he felt death start to embrace. He was about to accept his fate, when-

 _ **"Papa!"**_

Alucard let out a silent gasp of surprise. That voice... it was obvious who it was. _**"Pyrrha...?"**_ He saw his daughter, running across the rooftops, holding out her arm with her pinky up as the tears streamed down her face. _**"It's... been so long since you've called me that, my little princess."**_ he told her with what happiness he could master.

 _ **"Papa, you can't leave yet! You said you wouldn't break your promise!"**_

Flashes of memories came back to Alucard, all pertaining to Pyrrha. Her birth. Her first words. The first time she walked. Her first school. Her first weapon. Her first pet. her first kill... and the promise he made to her.

 _"Of course not, my little princess. That's never going to happen. You two are the most important people to me. Papa won't leave you, or_ _M_ _ama. Papa will always be by your side, and will always be there for you."_

Alucard could do nothing but shed tears as he finally closed his eyes.

 _ **"I'm sorry... but Papa can't keep his promise."**_

Alucard's body vanished into the wind, leaving Aphrodite hugging nothing but the air. The succubus fell down desperately grasping, trying to reach out to her now-dead-husband. Aphrodite sobbed loudly, banging the floor in a fit of despair.

Hellsing, the Atlesians, the students and the Iscariot could only gape as the strongest being in Remnant was now dead. Pyrrha stopped in her tracks. She fell to her knees, the tears flowing more and more. Jaune sensed his mistress's distress and quickly went in to comfort her.

Mother and daughter looked up to the sky, crying in full despair, grief and devastation.

 **"ALUCARD!/PAPA!"**

Everyone looked around, starting to feel the ground shake and tremor. The people in Ozpin's inner circle or those who are aware of it looked at Mt. Glenn in pure horror. Said mountain began to shake violently, as if something wanted to break out from the inside. In a moment's time, the mountain broke apart, and out came a giant Grimm Dragon, flying through the skies and roared. It had finally awakened from its long slumber.

As the ancient Grimm flew by, it released tar-like substance from its body and dropped it all to the ground. As it hit the floor, the substance begun to form into various other Grimm: Beowolves, Ursai, Boarbatusks, Creepers, etc.

The people who chose to evacuate quickly rushed in to the air buses, desperate to get out. Every person who could still fight quickly rushed to the battlefront, fending off against the newly spawned Grimm.

Jaune gritted his teeth as he continuously fended off the Grimm surrounding him and Pyrrha. The latter was in a state of depression, still in disbelief that her father died. The Arc Vampire roared and successfully killed all near-by beasts.

The Grimm Dragon headed for the Beacon Tower, attracted to a certain someone. Cinder smirked victoriously as the large Grimm went to where she was right now. Emerald and Mercury may have had retreated with the others, but now? She didn't care. She now had the power of the Fall Maiden, and the Grimm Dragon had awakened. She was basically unstoppable! There's no force that could her defeat her!


	20. Release the Restraints

**This chapter has been long overdue and I'm sorry that it took me so long to post this. School kept getting in the way** **and the assigned homework were all vital for my standing, I** **'m sorry.**

 **Enough of my excuses. Read, and please review your criticism!**

* * *

"Keep pelting these bastards!"

Ironwood kept out barking out orders to his men as he made sure that the reinvigorated horde of Grimm would not get pass the line between him and the evac center. Anderson and Walter jumped into the fray, their visage contorted into livid expressions. Quite obviously, they were heavily affected by their most recent casualty.

Butler and Paladin roared and unleashed their weapons, piercing and shredding through every Grimm in their path. However, for every Grimm they killed, three more took its place.

Seras decided to join on in the carnage and charged right in.

 _"These fucks just killed my dad. And I'm gonna make them pay!"_

Alucard's Greatest Servant grabbed an Ursa by the throat and easily hefted it up into the air. Seras growled and crushed its throat, which also led to its head exploding. Seras threw the carcass at its brethren, using it as a distraction. She jumped in and turned her left hand into dark matter. The blonde threw her arm in a sweeping motion, her left hand extending and bisected through over a dozen Grimm.

Seras looked above and saw a flock of Nevermore flying overhead. The flock screeched and rapidly flapped their wings, shooting out black feathers. Seras was not the only target - The evac center behind her was targeted as well. Seras dashed back and spread her mater as wide as she could to defend her comrades and the civilians.

Seras had managed to arrive on time, blocking most of the feathers that dared to pierce the innocent. However, not all was blocked. Integra walked up to the center, having dried up her tears. She whipped out her pistol and shot at the remaining deadly feather, destroying them before it could reach their designated targets.

Integra pulled out a cigar and put it in her mouth. Unfortunately, she lost her lighter during a battle. So, she decided for an alternative.

"Pip. Light me."

The Mistralian happily obliged and took out his revolver. Integra leaned forward and Pip pulled the trigger, shooting the very tip of the cigar. The sole remaining Hellsing smiled in satisfaction as she blew out a small cloud of smoke.

"Thank you." she genuinely spoke.

Integra turned around to look at the still grieving redhead. Aphrodite was the most affected by Alucard's abrupt death. After all, they've been through thick and thin, have done everything together for as long as they could remember, and have been married for many millennia.

The creamy blonde walked up to the Aphrodite, concern written all over her face. "Aphrodite..." she tenderly spoke. Integra clasped the redhead's shoulder, trying to get her attention, but to no avail, Aphrodite seemed unresponsive. "Aphrodite." she tried again, this time, shaking her shoulder.

Aphrodite still ignored her, her eyes sunken, the life in it seemingly forever lost. While most people see Integra as a cold, and harsh individual, but in reality, she was like every other human. She felt sad just by looking at the woman she considered a sister. Integra bowed her head, sighing.

"...o me."

Integra's head shot up, hearing Aphrodite's soft muttering. "Aphrodite?" the blonde asked in both surprise and concern.

 **"Bring those bastards to me** **!** **"** repeated the redhead, much louder this time, echoing. Aphrodite stood up, her face shadowed by her bangs. A red cloak of Aura starting to radiate from her body. Another peculiar thing was her hair. It started to levitate, splitting into nine strands, waving wildly, quite reminiscent of tails. The runes on her body darkened, glowing hotly... almost like magma.

Everyone stared at the glowing redhead in apprehension, wondering what was happening to her. Integra bit her lip in worry, recognizing what was happening to Aphrodite.

 _"Oh dear."_ thought Integra. _"Please don't tell me this is that final form she's been telling me about!"_

Aphrodite walked up to the renewed war zone, her crimson blood eyes glowing with a glint that spoke of pain. Her grin was more unsettling, her canines now more spiked and ragged.

 **"Tell your men to pull out, Ironwood. Anderson. Unless, of course, they want to get in the crossfire."** Aphrodite spoke with a tone that seemed to make her sound primal, almost like an animal.

The two men knew better than to go against her in that state. Ironwood barked out to his men to fall back, while Anderson merely needed a hand wave to get his paladins out of the battlefield.

Seras looked at Aphrodite, just as concerned as Integra. After Alucard had sired her, Aphrodite became her second mother, treating her like she would a daughter. The blonde locked eyes with the redhead, sending out a silent message. Reluctantly, the blonde walked off and back to the evac center.

This made Aphrodite happy. And not the good kind. Aphrodite blew up in a sudden explosion of light, blinding all those who laid their sights on her. When the light ceased, Aphrodite's form had changed. Her skin became black as charcoal. Her wings became feathered yet metallic. She also lost her tail, while her entire clothes became plated and armored.

 _"That is impossible... I thought she was a succubus! Not some sort of devil or fallen angel!"_ thought Maxwell in both horror and amazement.

Aphrodite stopped in front of the hordes of Grimm, looking at them with her grin still on her face. She let out a loud laugh, the same one Alucard would make when he's amused or was about to go on a spree of kills, sending chills down everyone's back.

 **"He he he he he he he he heh. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! I... will teach you all the meaning of fear!"**

One of the braver Grimm, an Alpha Beowolf, charged in and slashed the redhead in the stomach. Much to the surprise of everyone, it drew blood. Its brethren grew confident and went in to attack her. Striking, slashing and stabbing her in different places.

This didn't seem to worry Aphrodite, who remained still. That's when it suddenly happened. Aphrodite's blood floated up into the air. The succubus cackled and snapped her fingers. Her blood suddenly sprung forth and pushed back the assaulting Grimm, washing them away.

Aphrodite cracked her neck. She clenched her hand, the crimson liquid following it motion and gathered, forming into a giant sphere. Aphrodite opened her hand and curled her fingers, her blood separating and shaping into dozens of spears. She flicked her hand to the left and the blood spears shot out to the Grimm. None of them were able to react as the blood embedded straight in their skulls.

Aphrodite called back her blood with a beckoning finger. The life essence flowed into her hand and solidified into a large scythe. The redhead blitzed in and bifurcated a Beowolf's arm. She kicked it down and sliced the poor thing in half. Boarbatusks rolled at her, spikes sticking out from their bodies. She summoned more of the blood around her and created a blood wall, which stopped the Boar Grimm in their tracks.

Aphrodite slammed her palm onto the wall and let it burst into tendrils. The pissed-off mother manipulated the liquid and constricted an oncoming nest of Death Stalkers. Aphrodite clenched her hand, ordering her blood to crush the Scorpion Grimm's exoskeleton, killing it.

 _"Hell hath no fury like a yandere deprived of their love."_ thought Anderson, who watched Aphrodite proceed on brutally punching an Ursa Major to death. _"At least, I think she's a yandere."_

"What is happening with mum?" asked Seras out loud. Everyone turned heads to Damien. Unfortunately, he looked just as confused.

"Mother never shared who or what my grandfather and grandmother was." revealed the Incubus. "This... is new to me as well."

Integra cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention. "Aphrodite and I have talked about this some years ago. Nothing too specific. Everything was quite vague. She only mentioned that she had something akin to Alucard's Restriction Levels. She hinted that her weapon needed to be broken, and that she must hit the lowest point in her life for it to surface."

Anderson frowned, having figured it out. "And that lowest point... would be Alucard's death."

Integra shrugged. She took the cigar in her mouth, continuing to watch the crazed succubus mercilessly slaughter the creatures of darkness. "It's all mere speculation. We won't truly know unless Aphrodite herself tells us."

* * *

Jaune grunted, having just killed another batch of Grimm. He and Pyrrha were still in the same spot, not having managed to press on because of the seemingly unending gauntlet of Grimm.

Jaune looked behind him to see Pyrrha still grieving over her father's death. Despite knowing that they were immortal, he couldn't bring himself to allow themselves to be torn to shreds and not do anything. As much as he really wanted to comfort his mistress, he couldn't.

A flock of Griffons squawked at Jaune and dived down to attack him. The Arc Vampire rolled out of the way and activated Nigrum Mors' shotgun mode. He aimed at the still near-by Griffons and shot them right in the heads, disorienting them momentarily. Jaune quickly moved in and tore off their wings. He then kicked them off the roof, sending them plummeting to their death.

A King Taijitu emerged from the ground, hissing at the blond. It lunged at Jaune, only to be met with a shield to the face, stopping it in its tracks. The giant snake hissed in pain, only to cease as it was quickly decapitated.

With no more other Grimm in sight, he ran up to his mistress and shook her by the shoulder. "Pyr, come on. Let's get to the evac center." he suggested.

Pyrrha's eyes gazed up at the Grimm Dragon, which was scaling up to the top of Beacon Tower. She could sense a powerful source of magic emanating at the very top. She may not be able to avenge her father by slaughtering his killer, but she could start her vengeance by killing the one who orchestrated it.

"Starting with the pawn." Pyrrha sadistically thought out loud. The redhead stood up, pure resolve settling in her face.

Jaune let go of her shoulder, curious as to what was going on through his girlfriend's mind. "P-Pyr?" he tentatively asked.

Pyrrha's gaze did not break from the tower. Instead it hardened. She clenched her hand and took a few steps forward, until she was stopped by Jaune. The blond pulled her in, completely worried.

"Pyrrha, where are you going?"

She remained silent for a few seconds, until finally, she spoke. "...I need to do what must be done, Jaune. I'm planning on fighting that dragon, and Cinder."

"What?" uttered Jaune in surprise. "Pyrrha, that's insane. Come on, forget about that bitch and let's go-"

Pyrrha broke away and lightly glared at the blond. "No! I won't! My Papa... He just died in front of me, Jaune. I can't let it go, not after that. I need to do this! Besides, if no one's going to do anything about it, then I will!"

Jaune looked down, his eyes hidden by his bangs. "...I just don't want you to recklessly charge in, only to die, Pyr." He looked at his partner, tears starting to stream down his face. "I might not know how you feel right now directly, but to see you hurt like that hurts just as much! I can't lose you, Pyrrha!"

"Jaune..." She didn't know how to react. She knew that Jaune greatly worried over his friends. Their conversation before the invasion was proof of that. Jaune, having had no friends growing up, greatly valued what friendship he had... just like her.

"So please!" the blond begged.

Jaune blinked, feeling Pyrrha's hand caress his cheeks. He yelped lightly as Pyrrha then pulled him in, their lips meeting. At first, Jaune was surprised at the sudden action, but he did not have any complaint. He wrapped his arms around her, pushing her in closer, deepening the kiss. Right now, nothing mattered. Not the war. Not the Grimm. Not the Nazis. Not Cinder. Only this kiss.

They separated, but only because they had to, lest they get overtaken by their building lust. The two of them sighed, becoming content with just each other's presence. However, it would be broken by the Grimm Dragon's roar, reminding them of where they are right now. Pyrrha sighed, still cupping her servant's cheeks tenderly, looking at him with a loving, yet sad smile.

"If I don't come back by some slim chance, please... take care of Mama for me. Alright?"

Jaune wordlessly nodded. He broke away and headed towards the direction of the evac center, leaving Pyrrha to herself. She slowly spun around, staring silently at the Grimm Dragon settling on the tower. Slowly, Pyrrha's lips curled into a grin. She parted her lips, and started laughing. Not the one filled with normal happiness. No. It was that of sadistic glee. The one Alucard would usually do when he's about to slaughter someone for the lols.

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed, glowing brightly. She looked to her left, seeing an unattended rocket locker. An idea popped into her mind, making her grin become impish. Oh, the fun she was going to have!

* * *

Aphrodite brought down her palm onto the ground, her blood surging under the Grimm. The crimson liquid shot up, stabbing almost all of the Grimm in the stomach. The widow with a vengeance slammed her hands together, forcing the blood to move the Grimm and smack into each other, exploding in a black cloud of smoke.

 **"More! Come on! Give me more meat bags to kill!"**

A figure entered in Aphrodite's sight, making her smile. She lunged at the figure with a blood-curling roar, claws out and ready to plunge in to flesh. But due to her state of blood lust, everything was a bit hazy. Everything was a blur. She couldn't distinguish friend from foe.

Jaune yelped and jumped back, narrowly avoiding the attempted slash. He quickly reacted on instinct and blocked the claws with his shield. Aphrodite cackled trying to push him back.

 **"That's it! I love it when they helplessly try to fight back!"**

Jaune gritted his teeth and tried to stop her. "Aphrodite! It's me, Jaune! Please snap out of it!"

But she wasn't listening. In her rage, and her continued lust of blood, she ignored every rational part of her body and solely focused on murder, murder, with a dash of seduction. She dashed back and prepared to attack again, only to be restrained by Seras.

"Mum! Stop it! You almost hurt, Jaune!"

Aphrodite broke free from her hold. She spun around and bifurcated Seras's left arm, earning the redhead a grunt of pain from the blonde. Seras gritted her teeth as blood started gushing out. She closed her eyes, trying to will her body to heal the wound. But for some odd reason, nothing was happening.

"W-What the-"

Seras was completely cut off as Jaune tackled her down in order to avoid Aphrodite's slash attack. Maxwell had enough of watching from the sidelines and sprung in. He gathered light into the palm of his hand and threw it at the succubus' feet. The light shined and wrapped around the redhead, restricting her of any movement.

 **"Damn you! Release me this instant!"**

Anderson walked up to the restrained redhead. He pulled out a Bible and opened it to a specific page. The Paladin brought down his hand onto it, chanting out in the ancient language. The scriptures on the Bibles glowed and detached from it, fluttering towards Aphrodite. Anderson slammed his palm onto Aphrodite's forehead, doing the same thing he had done to Yang during her fight with Mercury.

In a matter of seconds, Aphrodite's appearance receded and she turned back into her normal, succubus form. Aphrodite lightly panted, rational sense coming back to her eyes as became a warm, vivid green.

"...You can let me go now. I'm fine."

Maxwell grunted and called back his light, letting go of Aphrodite. She stood up and dusted herself. Damien ran in, concerned for his mother. He captured her in a hug, asking her if she was alright. Aphrodite lightly smiled and patted her son's head, telling him she was okay. They stayed like that for a couple of more seconds before separating. Anderson looked at his deceased arch-rival's wife with a questioning look.

"What the bloody hell was that, Aphrodite? You acted like an animal that needed to be put down." he said, no trace of empathy and concern in his tone.

"...I don't know what it's actually called, but I call it Devil Trigger because it reminds of something from a video game series." Even Aphrodite's tone was blank. "I never knew who my father nor my mother was. I only found this out from Alucard after he saved me from captivity. And I don't want to talk about it."

Aphrodite noticed Seras's situation and gasped in worry. "Seras!" He ran up to the injured blonde and knelt down by her. "What did mommy do to you?!"

Seras gritted through the pain and smiled. "Tis a scratch. Nothing but a flesh wound."

Aphrodite frowned at the joke and decided to ignore it. She gently grabbed her stump and bit into it. Seras hissed as Aphrodite's fang sunk into her flash. Black marking appeared around Seras's arm, bringing her confusion. The markings started to move and were absorbed in by Aphrodite. She released her hold on Seras and wiped her mouth.

"There. You should be able to use your regeneration now."

Seras concentrated, willing her body to heal itself injury. Black matter erupted from the stump, wildly waving before Seras willed it to tame itself, forming into an arm. Seras closed and opened her hand a few times, until a smile dawned her face.

"Now this is more practical."

Aphrodite smiled, happy that her honorary daughter wasn't angry at her. She turned to face Jaune so she could apologize to him, but immediately took notice that he was alone. "Jaune... Where's my baby girl? Where's Pyrrha?" she asked fearfully.

Jaune wordlessly spun around, his eyes directed at where the Grimm Dragon was. Aphrodite immediately realized the implication behind the action. The succubus fell to her knees, eyes widened, tears threatening to fall down her face.

"No... Please don't tell me it is, Jaune!" she begged.

Jaune didn't say anything. He looked down as he tightly clenched his hand, regret overcoming him. Aphrodite shook her head, refusing to believe it. She stood up and ran, heading straight for Beacon Tower. Jaune was surprised and tried to stop her.

"Aphrodite, wait, don't!"

But his warning fell on deaf ears as Aphrodite continued to head where her daughter was.

Before Jaune could follow his girlfriend's mother, the sound of Nora and Ruby sobbing caught his attention. Now that he thought about it, he fully trusted Pyrrha's judgement and capabilities, and Aphrodite only acted how a caring would. He ran to the source of the crying, pushing through the many evacuees.

He dearly wished he never looked.

Jaune gasped in horror as he saw Yang and Ren's condition. Maxwell hovered over the two, trying to keep them stable. The Vampire Arc took a step back, disbelief becoming apparent in his face.

"No..." he softly whispered to himself. Jaune fell to his knees and pounded the ground, screaming in frustration. "Dammit! If only I was there. If only I had stayed!"

Anderson went to his nephew's side, consoling him. "Jaune, the what ifs doesn't matter. Don't blame yourself, my boy."

Unfortunately, Anderson's words did not reach Jaune as he continued to put himself down. "Again... I was useless again! What good are my powers if I couldn't even use them to help my friends?!"

By now, Heinkel had come to comfort her little brother, repeatedly telling him that he wasn't useless. It didn't matter to Jaune. What mattered was that he failed to save two of his friends, and now they were approaching the Pearly Gates.

Jaune let out a roar and pounded the ground yet again. Suddenly, he exploded in a silver glow, releasing a shock wave that washed over everyone. Anderson looked at this with a curious look before realizing that he felt... Energized.

Like he could go ten rounds with a group of Beringel with nothing but his fists.

Maxwell gasped in amazement as the light washed through him, feeling empowered as well. He looked down and saw a miracle happen. The burns on Ren faded away, and the both of them settled into steady breaths, much to the relief of their loved ones and friends. The almost-albino man chuckled and went up to the oblivious blond.

"Looks like you're not as useless as you think, Jaune. Take a look at your friends."

"What?"

Jaune looked up and saw that Ren and Yang were relatively fine, although both of them were still missing some limbs, and an eyeball for Yang. While Jaune was relieved, he also looked confused. Anderson smiled and placed a hand over his shoulders.

"Don't you get it, my boy? This happened because of you. Your feeling of despair, and frustration, looks like they were enough to trigger your Semblance."

Jayne's eyes widened at this fact. He... He finally had his Semblance? The thought filled with joy and pride. However, he soon remembered where he was and schooled his features. Instead, he settled with a smile on his face.

 _"I won't be useless anymore... This time around, I'll be better."_

* * *

Cinder let out a haughty laugh as she continued to revel in her maiden powers. She never felt alive in her entire life, until now. The Grimm Dragon peered through the window, letting out a low and threatening growl as it sensed the power. Cinder smirked and strode up to the large Grimm.

"Don't worry. She sent me here." Cinder spoke in a soothing town. She spread her arms across, gesturing to the entirety of the tower. "This is your home now."

This seemed to pacify the Ancient Grimm, much to Cinder's satisfaction. The maiden then quirked an eyebrow as she heard something struck the wall to her left. She conjured up a fireball into her palm and slowly approach the noisy wall. Deciding to take no chances, Cinder cocked back her hand and-

 **CRASH**

From behind, a rocket locker broke through the windows and Cinder didn't manage to react in time. Cinder let out a grunt of pain as the locker slammed into her chest, slamming her into the wall. The femme fatale growled, trying to pry off the locker, but to no avail. That's when she noticed that someone was on top of her. More specifically, the locker.

"Gotcha, bitch!"

It was Pyrrha. The vengeful redhead clenched her hand, forcing the locker to push in further. Cinder growled, and called upon her powers, blasting away the locker. Pyrrha jumped off of it, boosting herself into the air. She let out a war cry and flung her shield at the femme fatale.

Cinder stood straight, letting out a short pant, only to be struck on the side of the head, disorienting her. Pyrrha descended and brought out her xiphos, slashing Cinder. Cinder growled and unleashed a blast of blazing energy, striking the redhead. Pyrrha shrieked, feeling herself disintegrate into ash. Her remains were blown away, scattering into the air, making Cinder smirk.

"How disappointing. Was that all the Goddess of Victory has to offer? Such a shame. Looks like I've overestim-"

The femme fatale was cut off by a sucker punch, causing her to stumble. Cinder gritted her teeth and managed to recover quickly. She looked up and gasped. In front of her was a very much alive Pyrrha Nikos.

"Surprised?"

Cinder's eyes fell onto the rocket locker, noticing that it was open. _"So, she was hiding inside? But then, who was I fighting just now?"_

With Cinder distracted, Pyrrha went in for the attack. She grabbed Cinder by the shoulders and judo flipped her. Cinder slid on the ground momentarily, before stopping herself. Pyrrha then went in and bashed the maiden in the stomach. She then quickly followed it up with spin slashes across her chest and legs. Cinder responded in kind, doing a somersault kick.

Pyrrha dodged it with a back flip. She brought out her weapons and threw them at the femme fatale. Cinder grunted and easily deflected the two weapons, tossing them aside. She wasn't prepared to be tackled down by Pyrrha. The two of them furiously spun around, trying to get the other below. They both landed harshly on the floor, kicking up dust and smoke.

Eventually, the dust cleared away, showing Pyrrha won the struggle and currently had Cinder in a choke hold, Milo poised right above the maiden's throat. Cinder tightly gripped onto the the xiphos as her eyes glowed, trying to melt down the weapon. However, it did not budge. Pyrrha tightened her hold, causing Cinder to start choking.

Pyrrha was momentarily distracted by a loud screech. She looked and saw the Grimm Dragon was heading right towards them. This was enough for Cinder as she elbowed Pyrrha by the gut and unleashed a blast of fire at point blank range, sending Pyrrha straight to the wall as the Grimm Dragon crashed through the room.

Debris upon debris fell, crashing down around the two females. Cinder panted and levitated into the air, regaining her breath while Pyrrha tried to shake off the concussion that she felt forming. She assessed her surroundings. Akouo was right in front of her, while Milo was embedded across the room. Dozens of cogs were scattered around the room.

Pyrrha flicked her wrist to the right, sending Ozpin's desk straight into Cinder's face, who had not anticipated the sudden move and was thrown off-balance. Pyrrha swiftly grabbed her shield and attempted to call upon her weapon, only for Cinder to interrupt, sending a barrage of fireballs at the redhead. The vengeful daughter danced around them, before blocking the last one. With a war cry, she flung her shield at Cinder yet again, only for her to block it.

Cinder gasped, noticing that all of the cogs around them surrounded her, a black outline clearly visible. Pyrrha smirked and moved her shield, knocking Cinder off her feet. She rammed a cog right into Cinder's stomach, pinning her to the floor. Pyrrha roared and clenched her hand tightly, bringing the cogs down, in hopes of crushing the maiden to her death.

Unfortunately, Cinder did not want things to end just yet.

 **"IT'S NOT OVER YET!"**

The agent of Salem released a blast of energy, destroying the cogs, and as well as creating a shockwave. Pyrrha threw her javelin at the still recovering enemy, only to be hit by the shockwave, slamming her back into a wall. She let out a cry of pain, feeling her Aura break.

Cinder did not come out unscathed. The javelin pierced through her shoulder, making her scream. She gritted her teeth and ripped it out. Cinder conjured up a blaze and shattered the weapon. Then, she placed her palm over the wound, cauterizing it to prevent the bleeding. She grimaced in pain and allowed her Aura to do the rest of the healing.

Cinder summoned her bow, an arrow made of Dust in place. She smirked at the redhead, who attempted to stand up, and released the arrow. The Dust arrow zipped through and struck Pyrrha right in the heel. The redhead hissed in pain as she fell down to her knees. She certainly didn't expect another arrow to pierce her body. Right in the chest, just above her breast.

Blood streamed down, coating her skin red. Cinder laughed triumphantly, her entire body glowing.

"And in the end, you were just another ant to be crushed. Another hero to be forgotten. Don't you get it? I hold the power of the Fall Maiden! A being of supreme magic! And that's not counting the Grimm Dragon on my side! In comparison to you, a lowly huntress, I... am practically a demi-god!" she boasted.

Pyrrha looked at her with deadpan look, despite having two arrows sticking out of her.

"Really? ...Really?"

"Really." confirmed Cinder.

Pyrrha internally grinned, her next move already coming to mind. Oh. And to annoy Cinder as well. "Really?!"

"Really!" Cinder shouted, getting peeved at the redhead.

 **"REALLY?!"** Once again, Pyrrha asked, her blood having already stopped flowing, a grin now on her face.

"REAL-!"

Cinder was cut off, as she felt a heavy presence surround her. Whatever it was, it made her lose her breath, causing her to choke and fall to her knees. She looked in front, seeing Pyrrha standing up, a black mist surrounding her. Cinder eyes grew wide, completely overcome by shock, and horror. Despite choking, she tried to speak, only to spiral into mumbling, terrified out of her mind.

"But I... You...! What the fuck?!"

Pyrrha grinned, a pair of hands emerging out from the mist, circling around her as she spoke in the same chilling tone as Alucard did when he unleashed his army.

 **"Releasing Controlled Arc Restriction Systems three... two... one! Approval of Situation A recognized; commencing the Cromwell Invocation. Ability restrictions lifted until the user... has died!"**

The hands completely blocked her from Cinder's view. The mist gathered, before it blew up, completely blinding Cinder, who had crossed her arms over her eyes. Eventually, the mist dissipated, revealing Pyrrha... in a completely different form.

Pyrrha had changed. Her hair grew longer and wilder, ending right behind her wait. The color black practically dominated her hair, the red completely overtaken. Her eyes, still as crimson as blood. Her entire armor had the most changes. She gained a black, long sleeved shirt underneath her armor, her gauntlets becoming something akin to Jaune's, her greaves gaining additional plating, golden shoulder armors, and finally, a flowing cape for dramatic flair.

Cinder quivered, taking a step back. The grin on the redhead's face greatly unnerved her. Pyrrha took a couple of steps forwards, looking at the femme fatale like a predator would - a piece of meat.

 **"What's wrong, demigod bitch? You were talking all that good shit just a second ago. Until I stopped holding back. Come on! Pull yourself together, the fun had just begun!"**

Cinder let out a terrified shriek and shot a fireball right at Pyrrha's face, only for it to disintegrate. Cinder's eyes widened and shot a few more, but they all ended up with the same fate. Pyrrha cackled and slowly approached the maiden.

Fear completely overrode any sense of rational thought in Cinder's thought. Highest priority was getting rid the source of her fear. She gathered her Aura into the palm of her hands and cupped them together. Cinder drew them back, before thrusting it forward, releasing a large beam of blaze, washing over Pyrrha and kicking up some smoke. Cinder fell to her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"Heh." panted out Cinder. "The fun's already over."

A voice echoed through the smoke, Cinder's smug expression replaced once again with fear.

 **"Think again! It's not over yet!"**

Pyrrha walked out of the smoke, completely unharmed. Cinder tried to escape, but found herself in Pyrrha's grip. The vampiress hissed and grabbed Cinder's left leg. She grunted and clenched her hand over the limb, breaking both Cinder's Aura, and her leg, earning Pyrrha a shriek of pain. Pyrrha threw Cinder overhead, the broken female falling right onto a jagged piece of debris, tearing up the left sleeve of her dress.

Cinder scrambled to get up and crawl. She had to get out of there, was the only resonating thought in her head. However, Pyrrha wasn't quite done yet. She grabbed Cinder by the neck, hoisting her up into the air. Pyrrha grinned and slammed Cinder's face into a wall. She pulled back, Cinder's left eye and nose were starting to bruise, some of her teeth cracked. Pyrrha slammed her into the wall again. And again. And again. And again. And again.

After a few more face-to-wall action, Pyrrha looked at Cinder's face and was immensely happy at the results. Her nose was broken and bleeding. Her left eye was completely black, her cheek swelling. Some of her teeth had shattered and fell to the ground. And her forehead had some shrapnel stuck into it.

Once again, Pyrrha tossed Cinder away, the body sliding across the room like a rag doll, her head bumping against a wall. Cinder helplessly groaned as she wept. She attempted to stand up, using the wall behind her as a crutch. Milo appeared out of nowhere and slammed right into Cinder's kneecap, shattering it. The agent of Salem could only scream and fall haplessly onto the cold floor, her back crashing against the wall.

Pyrrha snatched Cinder by her arm and bared her fangs. She sunk in her teeth right into Cinder's shoulder, tearing at the socket. By now, Cinder became a whimpering mess, blood spurting out and coating her body. Pyrrha harshly pulled back, tearing off the arm, but not completely. The limb limply hung, as the sinews and tendons desperately tried to connect it.

"Please..." weakly begged Cinder. "Mercy..."

 **"Mercy, you say?"** inquired Pyrrha. **"Tell me, is invading Vale a mercy? Slaughtering dozens upon dozens of innocent people?! Awakening an ancient Grimm. Is any of that mercy!?"** As she listed off each one, Pyrrha became more and more angry. **"And another, your group killed my Papa. You may not be the who orchestrated it, but you're guilt by association. In short, I don't have any mercy left, instead, I have for you a fate worst then death."**

Cinder could feel her fear re-surge with a vengeance as Pyrrha's words entered her. She desperately tried to move her body, but to no avail. Pyrrha harshly grabbed Cinder by the hair, lifting her up. The fangs in her mouth grew sharper, making her grin look more terrifying. Pyrrha lined in and bit into Cinder's neck, making the maiden gasp at the sudden intrusion.

This was it. Pyrrha would consume Cinder's blood, effectively capturing her soul, forcing the broken woman to live on forever as a familiar to the vampiress. Despite the pain, Cinder let out a moan, due to the pleasurable substance inside of Pyrrha's saliva. Slowly, her skin started to become pale, along with her body dissolving.

Aphrodite landed on to the roof, just in time to see Cinder dissolve into nothingness and be absorbed into Pyrrha's body. Cinder's powers, memories, and her body was now hers. For a brief moment, her eyes glowed, flickering a bright gleam of orange. And now, the power of the Fall Maiden belonged to her.

Aphrodite gasped, before she schooled her features. If she were to be honest, that's what she would've done. Pyrrha noticed her mother's presence and walked up to her. Suddenly, the younger redhead tackled her mother and sobbed into her chest. Aphrodite closed her eyes and embraced her daughter, softly brushing her fingers through her hair as she desperately tried not to cry.

"Shh shh. It's okay, baby. I miss him too."


	21. Aftermaths

**This took longer to post than expected** **due to my graduation coming near, and the practically endless requirements to graduate had practically swamped me, disabling me from writing.**

 **Once again, I'm very sorry. Enjoy this short chapter! Please, read and review!**

* * *

Everyone waited with baited breaths for mother and daughter to come back. The Grimm remained lingering, but the numbers have drastically decreased, fortunately. Finally, the waiting was awarded. The remaining people saw Aphrodite and Pyrrha walk side by side, although the latter seemed... sullen.

Naturally, Jaune was worried and ran up to meet with his girl. Before he could even part his lips, Pyrrha threw herself into his arms and started sobbing into his chest. Jaune remained silent, not knowing what to say. He brought up his arm and wrapped it around Pyrrha, gently caressing her head.

Integra looked down, understanding what Pyrrha was currently feeling. However, she can't comfort her just yet. She needed to remain professional. She approached Aphrodite with her hands behind her back and uttered one word,

"Report."

Aphrodite lightly glared at the creamy blonde. However, this eventually ceased as she sighed and stood straight. "Cinder Fall is no longer a threat. Pyrrha personally saw to that."

"And what of the Grimm Dragon?"

"Unknown. It was nowhere to be seen when I arrived. It must've fled out of fear, or possibly self-preservation."

Satisfied, Integra nodded and left Aphrodite to her own devices and headed towards her men They need their orders and she needed to assure that their morale remained.

They would need it for what is to come.

Meanwhile, Anderson, Ironwood, Goodwitch and Qrow were discussing where they will be temporarily sending the evacuated civilians.

"What about Patch? It's nearby, and can probably accommodate all those people." suggested Qrow.

"No, Qrow." said Anderson. "Patch isn't large enough to fit all those people. We can't send 'em to Vacuo for obvious reasons."

Goodwitch nodded in agreement. "They lack a proper government, resources to provide, and the terrain would not fit everyone."

Ironwood sighed as he decided to place in his input. "Atlas, unfortunately, is also an unavailable option. It's too far, and too isolated."

The paladin couldn't help but roll his eyes and cross his arms at the General's reasoning. _"You lot aren't the only ones that are isolated."_ Anderson cleared his throat, the remaining options obvious. "So, we either send them to Mistral... or Arcadia."

"Mistral would be the most prime choice. No offense, Anderson, but I'm not too keen on sending the evacuees to your land. Culture and all."

Anderson scoffed but otherwise said nothing. Glynda nodded.

"Then it's settled. We'll send them to Mistral, while the able fighters will remain to fight off the remaining Grimm. Only then can we focus on rebuilding."

Qrow tuned out the blonde's voice and looked to his left. He immediately regretted it. He saw Yang being carried away into one of the emergency medic air buses, Ruby following suit, The drunkard sighed and ruffled his hair, being reminded of his failures.

"Hey, I need to get going. Heading for Patch to give Tai the news."

Qrow jumped into the air and transformed into his namesake. He let out a short caw and flew towards the direction of Patch. Anderson rubbed his chin, watching as Qrow flew farther away. Once he was out of sight, Anderson turned his attention to the teacher and the general.

"Well, let's get star-"

The paladin was cut off as a Bullhead came into view and started descending down. Anderson bit down the growl that was about to erupt from his mouth as he saw an insignia on the ship.

"Schnee!"

He wasn't the only one. Weiss grew a bit fearful, already knowing who's inside. Damien could practically see his mate's anxiety and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Weiss, what's wrong?"

He would be answered as the Bullhead landed down. The hatch opened up, revealing a white-haired man garbed in clothing befitting of a business man. Integra quirked an eyebrow at the man's sudden appearance.

"Jacques Schnee."

The man regarded the blonde with a curt nod, before he set his sights on Weiss. He approached his daughter, looking at her with a "worried" look.

"There you are Weiss. Are you alright?"

While the heiress was confused, Damien stared at Jacques with narrowed eyes. One of his abilities was to sense emotion, whether negative or positive. And right now, he could only feel darkness inside of the white haired man.

Meanwhile, Weiss still quite confused. Her father had never shown any sort of concern for her in the past.

Was this a sign that he was changing?

"Father? What are you doing here?"

Jacques looked at her with "concern" and clasped her shoulders gently. "Taking you home, to where you belong."

Damien's eyes widened as he heard Jacques think to himself.

 _"And to forever lock you up._ _Your actions have d_ _amag_ _ed_ _my reputation. Perhaps I'll marry you off to my partner, Wellington as additional punishment."_

This set something off in Damien as he lost any sense of morality and grabbed Jacques by the throat, lifting him up into the air.

"So, you're just gonna lock her up like she's junk to be discarded?!"

The patriarch struggled against the choke-hold and could only struggle out a few words. "Who... What are you supposed to be?"

Damien glared at the man and unceremoniously dropped him to the ground. "The one who's dating you're daughter! Now, kindly piss off, you egoistic bastard!"

Jacques growled and stood up as he dusted himself off. He locked eyes with the incubus and glared at him. "You don't have any power over me, boy!" He turned to face Weiss and harshly grabbed her by the arm. "Now, Weiss you and I-"

A large explosion interrupted him, kicking up a large amount of smoke. When it settled, it revealed the flaming wreckage of Jacques's personal Bullhead. It was evident Damien was the cause.

His glowing, outstretched arm was a dead giveaway.

"Well, looks like Weiss isn't leaving."

Jacques growled and released his grip on Weiss. His entire focus and anger was now solely focused at the redhead in front of him. "Why you insignificant speck of feculent scum! How dare you-!"

Once again, the man was cut off by Damien. But this time, he was interrupted as he soon found himself in a hold, a hook sword hovering over his throat. Damien was struggling to contain his anger as he tightened his grip around Jacques.

"No! How dare YOU?! Your daughter just fought through a damn war, and you only give a rat's ass about your own reputation! You didn't even come here to help distribute relief goods, no. You just came here to whisk away a hero!"

"You don't know who you're dealing w-"

For the third time, he was cut off. This time, the cause was an elbow to the face. Damien released his hold on the man, causing him to fall to the ground. The redhead subconsciously spun around his weapon as he maintained his glared on the man.

"Oh I know. People like you are the reason why terrorism exists! You suppress, you extort, you exploit! Damn you all. Damn you all!"

Jacques sat up, rubbing his bruising cheek. He pushed himself up and stared down the incubus. "I am not the one at fault here. I am the one who gives those ungrateful animals a job so they can sustain themselves!"

"Ungrateful? Ungrateful?! I've seen their working condition. Their mediocre payment! Their treatment! I should kill you, right here and now! In fact!"

Damien grabbed Jacques by the collar and hoisted him up to the air. Before he could even pull back his arm, a hand placed itself on his shoulder, making him turn his head to look whose it was.

"That's quite enough."

Damien was quite surprised that Anderson, of all people, was telling him to stop. Stop from killing a piece of shit that deserved to face Hell.

"Why do you stop me, Father Anderson?"

"I want him to be nothing more but a stain on the floor, but now is not the time nor the place. We have others thing to worry about that are above this miserable wretch. He's not worth the blade to be stained."

Damien looked at the priest and nodded. He threw Jacques down and sheathed his hook sword. "Be glad, Jacques. You get to see another day."

With that, the incubus went to Weiss. He could see the tears starting to form, which made him frown. The incubus drew her in for a hug, allowing her to cry into his chest. Damien sighed, gently patting her head to comfort her.

* * *

Nora did not move from her place. She greatly preferred to stayed by Ren's side until he would wake up. She gently grabbed his hand and squeezed it. The only noise that decorated the room was the soft beeping from the heart monitor.

"Hey."

Nora craned her neck and saw Jaune approach her. She waved at her leader, giving him a sad smile.

"Hey, fearless leader. Where's Pyrrha?"

Jaune sat down at the nearby seat and answered the hammer maiden. "She told me she wanted to be alone, think about a few things. Her father did just die in front of her. And who am I to disobey her?"

He looked at Ren and couldn't help but frown at his condition. In a small part of his mind, he still blamed himself for failing to protect him. He sighed and looked back at Nora.

"So what about Ren? What did they tell you?"

Nora shook her head slowly, the answer very much obvious. Jaune sighed and patted his friend comfortingly on the back.

"It's alright, Nora. He'll push through. Ren won't be leaving us any time soon."

Despite his words of confidence, Nora didn't react. Just the thought of Ren's near death completely horrified her. What more if he were to die? Nora shook the thoughts out of her head and focused back on reality. That Ren survived.

Jaune then tried to gain Nora's attention by lightly shaking her shoulder. "Come on, let's leave him for a minute and get you something to eat."

Before she could utter a reply, three medics strolled in to the room. The one in the middle, who had blonde hair, held a clipboard, looking at it intently. She looked up from it and blinked.

"Oh. You must be from Mr. Ren's team. I'm sorry, but we're going to have to ask you to leave as we'll be examining Mr. Ren to see if he has healed fully."

Nora was about to insist on staying, until a hand on her shoulder stopped her. The hammer maiden turned around and saw Jaune's disapproving look. She relented and sighed. Nora stood from her seat and joined her leader, exiting the room.

The medic couldn't help but let a sigh escape from her lips, a frown of sympathy overcoming her lips.

"Poor girl. Mr. Ren's condition must've greatly affected her."

The other medic grunted, adjusting his eye patch. "Well, let's face it. Orphans who've been friends till childhood are hard to separate. So, to suddenly lose the other..."

It didn't need to be finished. "Yes, well." The third medic pushed up his spectacles with his gloved hand, cutting it short. "Enough of the chit chat. Let's have a look, shall we?"

His fellow medics nodded in complete agreement. They went to work. They performed standard procedure: checking the heartbeat, pulse, breaths, any wounds to haven't healed, etc. Nothing too complex.

The medic with the eyepatch turned his attention to something, grunting as if he was talking to someone. With a nod, he turned to his comrades.

"Being called to the other section to tend to the people who ended up with either less a leg or an arm." He finished, gesturing to his left hand, quite obvious that it was a prosthetic.

"Don't worry, Venom." assured the bespectacled medic. "We can take it from here. Go on ahead."

Venom nodded gratefully and went out. As he walked off, the male medic turned to his blonde co-worker.

"What's your prognosis, Angela?"

Angela pushed away a fringed of hair, checking off the list on her clipboard. "His burns have recovered greatly. No sorts of blunt force trauma. Steady breaths. Normal pulse and heart rate. He should wake up in-"

She was interrupted by the horrifying sound of a flat line. The bespectacled medic cursed under his breath. He rushed to Ren's side and hovered his head over Ren's chest.

There was no sound of a heartbeat.

"No! He must not die here!"

Angela completely agreed. She grabbed an odd staff in the corner of the room. She twisted the top and pulled the trigger, a beam of Aura being released, shooting towards Ren. It completely shrouded the dead man's body. Much to their relief, the heart monitor started displaying a heart beat yet again.

"Now," began the medic, adjusting his spectacles as he pulled out a strange device. "Let us see the problem we did not notice."

He clicked the device and placed it over Ren's chest. It spazzed before it launched into the air. The lights on the device rapidly blinked before a beam spread across the body, as if scanning it. In a moment's time, it was done. The medic grabbed his Scroll and took hold of the device, inserting it in. It took a minute to load, before the results were finally displayed.

Least to say, it was not pretty.

"Oh. Oh dear. This... is quite drastic."

On the Scroll was Ren's X-Ray. In various parts of his body, dozens of shrapnel were embedded quite deeply. Angela gasped and placed a hand over her mouth.

"My Oum! No wonder... With that amount of shrapnel in his body, he was sure to die."

"Yes. Unfortunately, we are at a delicate situation. The shrapnel has completely been hidden in his bones, and it would take a great amount of work to remove every single one, with the high chance of him dying. We don't have the equipment to perform an emergency operation. And sadly, he might not make it to a specific hospital to receive treatment."

"Then what about Door 2?"

The two medics spun around, seeing Anderson standing by the door along with another medic. The priest strolled up to the comatose boy and looked at him sadly.

"It would be too much for Jaune's psyche to handle if he were to find out he failed to save his friend. That's why, I'm giving permission in using _**that."**_

Angela looked quite surprise, knowing what the man was implying. "But Father Anderson, the repercussions! You-"

"I know the risks. And to hell with those bastards who think they can bend our will. I don't plan on having innocents dying on my watch. And besides," Anderson faced the two with a smirk. "This is a great opportunity for him."

"But what about the equipment?" asked the bespectacled one. "We can't exactly operate without the proper tools."

The medic who was with Anderson uncrossed his arms and let out a short chuckle. "And that's why I'm here, Blüd."

Blüd narrowed his eyes at the man. "Didn't think you'd pick back up this practice."

"Well, considering I owe Jaune a debt. I think it's high time I pay him back." He faced Angela and nodded. "Ready the vial. Blüd and I will start the preparations." He turned his head to look at Ren with a small grin. "Let's see what happens when we play our Lord's role for a short amount of time.

* * *

"Are you sure you're not coming back with us to Mistral, Lady Aphrodite?"

Walter stood guard as the Hellsing Militia boarded the Bullhead. Aphrodite lightly shook her head as she gazed upon some of the burning wreckage.

"No... Pyrrha and I will temporarily go with Anderson to Arcadia, along with Damien and Weiss."

"Any particular reason why?" the butler asked.

"Right now, Mistral has too many painful memories that would remind us of Alu. We haven't had the proper time to grieve his death, so I think it would be best if we don't go back to Mistral for the time being."

Walter brought his hands behind his back, seeing sense in Aphrodite's reasoning. "Keep in mind, Arcadia is the home of Catholics. You, Pyrrha, Damien and even Ms. Schnee will be met with discrimination."

"I can assure you, that won't be happening."

The two turned their heads to see Heinkel walking up to them. The blond took out the cigarette in her mouth and puffed out a small cloud of smoke.

"They'll be staying with us, in our home. If any of them harass you, we'll deal with them."

Aphrodite looked at Heinkel and gave her a smile. "Thank you."

"Heh. Don't thank me, thank my little brother."

"Speaking of Jaune, where is he?" asked Aphrodite."I didn't get to apologize to him."

Heinkel shrugged as she put out the cigarette in her mouth. "Last I saw, he was in the medical room before heading for Father Anderson's personal Bullhead."

* * *

Pyrrha bathed herself in darkness. She just wanted to be alone right now. Yet at the same time, she wanted someone to comfort her, to ease her pain and sorrow. Oh how she regretted telling Jaune to leave her be for the time being.

But alas, her prayers were answered. The door behind her opened, some of the light that entered was blocked by a figure.

"Hey, little sister."

Pyrrha spun around and saw Damien standing at the doorway. The redhead regarded her half-brother with a nod.

"Hello, Damien. Shouldn't you be with Weiss right now?"

"Weiss is resting at the moment. After the revelation of that bastard really seeing her as nothing more but a tool to be used and can be discarded, it took a toll on her mind."

The incubus entered the room, the door closing on him, allowing darkness to yet again completely envelope the room.

Good thing they both possess night vision.

Damien sat down besides his sister, looking at her with a hint of worry. He could practically feel the sorrow permeate the room. So, he did his best to comfort her.

"I know that you and I aren't that close yet, but if you have a problem, you know you can confide in me."

Pyrrha sighed. She brought up her knees to her chest and hugged them, as she told her brother of her plight.

"I just... I don't know how to come to terms with Papa's death. I never expected that he would die, ever. I thought he would always be by mine, and my Mama's side, protecting us and walking with us through our troubles. The pain of loss... it hurts more than when I lose my limbs or head. How? How do I stop the pain?"

Damien crossed his arms and locked eyes with his sister's.

"You can't. No one can ever stop the pain. Even if after you've accepted it, it won't stop hurting. It's like it's all still there, never leaving. Sure, you can cope with it, but you'll never alleviate the loss. It's the same feeling I once felt when I thought I was all alone. But I didn't let it weigh me down, I did what had to be done."

"What did you do?"

The lone incubus uncrossed his arms and offered Pyrrha a smile. "I lived on, for their sake. Because that's what they wanted me to do. I didn't let the burden overcome me, instead I allowed to grow alongside me, changing me to a better person. I honored my mothers by adopting their quirks, if only to remind me that even if they're gone, they'd still be with me."

Pyrrha processed her brother's words and smiled in appreciation. She nodded in gratitude to Damien and smiled.

"Thank you, brother."

* * *

 **In the Grimm Lands**

Arthur brought down his fist on the table, glaring heatedly at the smiling Major. "You fool! Why are you so giddy?! We've lost Cinder, and in turn, the Fall Maiden! And what's more, you've just reduced your forces by 30%!"

Major snorted and waved off the livid man. "Ha! Who gives a shit? They're Nazis! And besides, we're still ten thousands strong. And on the topic of Cinder, she was but a sheep to be fed to the wolves so we could strike from behind."

"Were you not listening? We just lost the power of the Fall Maiden!"

Salem raised her hand, effectively silencing the bellowing scientist. Arthur reined himself and bowed before the Grimm Queen, asking for forgiveness. Salem regarded him for a moment and spared only a nod.

"Your anger has no purpose, Arthur. Our dear Major is right. Cinder was pawn right from the very start. Ready to be thrown away at any given time. Our objective was complete. The results in our favor. That is all that matters."

Hazel raised an eyebrow at his mistress's words. "The death of a single person turned the tides to our favor that much?"

Major decided to explain. "Nein, Herr Hazel. It merely evened the playing ground. Alucard was the biggest wrench in our plan. Take him out of the equation, and voilà! Our enemies have lost their most powerful weapon. What's more, with Alucard's death, their morale should have taken quite the nose dive."

Doktor nodded in agreement. "Indeed. The first ever pioneer of immortality, the monster under the bed that everyone dreads, the demon that plagues nightmares, the start of every vampire, etc, dead, by our hands. They would become anxious, fearful of our capabilities."

Tyrian cackled in the background, sharpening his claws. "Right right! And we didn't lose everything~"

A roar bellowed across the entire land, causing it to simulate an earthquake. From out of the windows, they could see the most obvious cause: the Grimm Dragon. It landed on one of the mountain, settling down and making it its home.

"We now have an Ancient Grimm by our side. If memory serves correctly, only the power of the Silver Eyes can kill it. And only one possesses it currently, and they haven't even unlocked it yet!"

Zorrin and Rip were situated by the far left, the latter fawning over the newly arrived Grimm. The scythe wielder looked at Salem and asked her a question.

 **"What's our next course of action, Mein Führer?"**

"We bide our time. Gather our forces and strengthen our numbers. And when the time is ripe, we unleash our wrath against the forces of light." Salem faced her most fervent follower. "Tyrian. I'm in need of you."

Quickly, the Scorpion Faunus jumped to his feet and knelt down in front of his goddess. "What shall be done, my goddess?"

"Cinder's lackeys are still at large. Find them, and bring them here. Alive. But, if they don't cooperate, dispose of the garbage." she ordered. Tyrian nodded and went off to do his mission. Salem turned to Major. "Are there any more of your forces scattered across the kingdoms?"

Major pushed up his glasses. "Indeed there is~ There are plants in Vacuo, Mistral, and even Atlas! Alas... We were not able to infiltrate Arcadia for most obvious reasons."

"That is alright. Order your men to remain blended with the mortals, and to strike when the signal comes."

Major nodded and excused himself. Zorrin and Rip followed suit, having nothing to do anymore. All that was left was Salem, Doktor, Arthur, and Captain.

"How goes the rest of the conversion, Doktor?"

The man grinned. He adjusted his glasses and bowed before his führer. "It's excellent! By the end of the month, we would have over thirty dozens of Evolved Grimm at our disposal!"

"Good. And what about the other thing I've asked from you?"

Much to Salem's pleasure, the man chuckled.

"Nothing to worry, my führer. We've an abundance of Steel Cogs, laying inside of _ **that place**_ , waiting to be unleashed. And more are also being produced as we speak."

Arthur decided to ask a question. "How were you even able to create such machines in the first place?"

Doktor smirked at the scientist."It's our little secret, Herr Arthur. Although," He crossed his arms, craning his head in thought. "I suppose I could tell you if you were to help me locate someone. You see, one of our benefactors has fallen off the grid for reasons we do not know. We need him due to his knowledge in creating drones and other weapons."

"Is that all?" inquired Arthur. "Just tell me his name and my network can find him."

Doktor remained silent and instead pulled out a calling card and handed it over to Arthur. The man could feel his eyes bulged as he saw the insignia printed on the card.

"This is-!"

* * *

Finally, the last of the airbuses with the final batch of civilians left Vale and went en route to Mistral. The remaining able fighters stayed behind, spearheaded by Goodwitch. The group marched through the ruined streets, the blonde professor flicking her crop around, using her Semblance to repair the buildings that were not on fire.

Meanwhile, the others behind her scattered, hunting down the remaining Grimm in their current location. They attacked them with fervor, not allowing anything to escape their sight.

But, unbeknownst to them, someone did manage to give them slip, limping through the other side, unseen by the Huntsmen and Huntresses.

The person slumped against a broken piece of debris, desperately trying to stop the bleeding as he panted heavily.

"Damn. That. Bitch! Forcing me. To cut off. My own damn arm!"

The person was revealed to be Adam Taurus. He still bled heavily with his horns still stuck in hie chest. What's more, he was now missing an arm. It's quite a surprise he was still alive, or that he managed to evade Goodwitch and the others.

As he regained his breath, Adam managed to reach his destination: Emerald Forest. But in a few more steps, he crumpled down to the ground, pain surging through his entire body. Adam howled in complete agony. He couldn't even do anything to alleviate the pain.

The pain ceased, but was it enough to knock him unconscious. From out of the shadows, a drone-like robot came across the body of Adam Taurus. It seemed to observe and analyze the Faunus with fervor. Once it was finished, the drone let out a chuckle through the speaker, revealing it that it was remote controlled.

 **"Heh heh heh heh heh. Such a fine specimen for me to experiment my research on exoskeletons.** **"**

The lights on the drone glowed red, gleaming quite brightly.


	22. Road to Recovery

**? POV**

Right now, darkness was the only thing in my sight. Are my eyes closed? Or are they covered? Either way, my mind quickly drifted to the pain that suddenly struck my body. Other than that, I could feel someone's hands on my chest.

Is someone trying to patch me up? Whoever they are, they are doing a bit of a rough job. I let out a groan, which earned me a gasp of surprise from whoever was trying healing me. Just from that sound, I could deduce it was a young boy.

I could hear the sound of the grass being ruffled. Probably from the boy trying to quickly stand and run at the same time.

"Ms. Raven! He's awake!" the boy said.

The boy must've called for their parent...wait. Raven? No. It couldn't possibly be, could it? There's no possible way it's the same Raven that I am thinking of. Soon, I could hear the boy's footsteps, accompanied by another. I scrunched up my face as I attempted to open my eyes.

I succeeded. My eyes fluttered open to the sight of a star-filled night sky. I craned my head to the left and saw a young boy around Ms. Rose's age. He had tanned skin, freckled cheeks and black hair, wearing what seemed to be the clothes of a farmer. And beside him was a woman who had the uncanny appearance of Ms. Xiao Long, but had raven-colored hair, red eyes, and looked quite older. This...was the person that I thought of.

"Raven Branwen."

Raven looked at me with crossed arms and smirked. Not the condescending one, but the one that screamed, 'I'm trying to alleviate the tension'. Which is very unusual from a woman such as herself.

"You look like shit, Ozpin."

* * *

 **3rd Person POV**

Ozpin groaned as he attempted to sit up, holding his head. He looked down to see that he was stripped of his upper clothing, as evident by the bandages and gauze covering his chest. He looked back at Raven and gave her a tired smirk.

"I never thought that you would come to my aid."

Raven faced her back to the bespectacled man as she looked at the moon with a wistful look. "Well, encounters with the right person can change someone. Myself included."

Ozpin knew who Raven was referring to. Alucard just had that effect on people, whether he knew or not. A frown then marred Ozpin's face. Speaking of Alucard, what happened in Vale? Has the battle been won?

Raven faced the boy and nodded at him. "Oscar, go fetch us some water."

He nodded and ran off to do as he was told, leaving them alone. With that, Raven turned to look at Ozpin. She uncrossed her arms and sat down on a boulder.

"So, mind telling me what the hell happened to you that got you this injured?"

Ozpin nodded and obliged. "I was attacked by one of Salem's minion, the one who managed to steal Amber's power. What's more, both Beacon and Vale were attacked. Not just by the Grimm and the White Fang... But Nazis as well."

"That's impossible." said the former tribe leader. "Don't bullshit me, Oz. The Nazis existed during the Great War when Mantle was still a kingdom. There's no way they could've lived up to this year."

The injured headmaster grunted and looked at the woman with a raised eyebrow. "You know of the existence of the maidens, the relics and above all, you've fought a fuck-mothering vampire. So the thought of them still being alive isn't impossible as you might think."

At the mention of vampire, Raven stiffened. In fear. This greatly surprised Ozpin as he always saw Raven as a ruthless and fearless individual.

 _'Is Raven...afraid?'_ Ozpin frowned in concern as he asked, "Are you afraid of vampires, Raven?"

Once again, she stiffened in pure fear. The proud woman quivered as she hugged herself, trying to block out the memories that haunted her.

"You weren't there, Oz. He slaughtered my men like they were cannon fodder. And then when he hunted me, he treated me as if I was just a joke. A fucking joke! He could've killed me, but he didn't! He left me alive... Just for the hell of it!"

"Well, to be fair, you provoked him by trying to kill him when he just wanted to congratulate you for managing to kill a horde of ghouls."

Raven started to calm down as she took in a deep breath. She sighed, admitting Ozpin was right. But then she realized what he said.

"Wait a minute. How do you know what happened?!"

"Alucard himself showed the event. From your tribe's death... Up to the reveal that you are the current Spring Maiden."

Raven's eyes darkened at the mention of the current status. "So...you know of my secret, huh? I suppose it was bound to be discovered. What will you do now that you know of it?"

"Nothing."

The female Branwen looked at the man with an incredulous look, suspicion completely highlighted on her face. Based on her expression, it was clear to Ozpin that she didn't trust his words.

"Really? Nothing? This, coming from the man who sacrificed the lives of people just to hurt the leader of the Grimm? The same man who was also responsible for the creation of the Maidens?! And, the man who got Summer killed!"

 **SLAP**

Raven winced in pain as she felt the stinging sensation on her cheek. She was quite surprised that, despite his current condition, Ozpin still had enough strength to hit her. But that wasn't all that surprised her. The expression on his face. It scared her.

It was pure anger.

"And you don't think I regret any of my mistakes?! My sins?! Their blood is on MY conscience, Raven! Every day, I have to live with the fact that they died because of my senseless need for validation, for my mission to kill Salem! I've lived since the very beginning, and you think I'm still in an okay state of mind?!" The man grabbed Raven by the shoulders, shaking her wildly. "Well, do you?!

This outburst gave Raven a whole new perspective over Ozpin. She had always thought that he had not cared for the people he worked with, that he thought of them as pawns to be discarded or sacrificed when their uses had ran out. What's more, the revelation that he had lived for a long time gave her some time to think.

She could hardly imagine all the horror, all the atrocities, the pain, the sorrow, and the losses he experienced throughout the millennia. In a way, she couldn't ever stand up to what he felt, making her feel sorry.

"I'm sorry." Raven sighed out. "I suppose I still feel a bit of resentment to you...for the secrets you've hidden that could've helped Summer."

"I know. And I'm trying to rectify everything. I am still doing my mission, but on my own terms. Why do you think I escaped instead of allowing myself to die?"

Raven looked at the man grunted, a ghost of a smile on her face. Silence looked over the two, not knowing what to discuss next. Ozpin's mind drifted back to the spell he had used to survive.

Essentially, it was teleporting spell. And it would teleport him to the location of the nearest person that was supposed to be the next in line for the cycle of reincarnation. As far as he knew, Ozpin was never reincarnated as girl, so he came to the conclusion he can only be reincarnated as a male. Which led him to a new topic.

"Where did you find that young man? Oscar, was it?"

Raven nodded in confirmation and told him her story. "After my tribe was wiped out, I wandered Anima for quite a while. It was only sheer coincidence that I stumbled across Oscar. His home was being wrecked by a group of Grimm, and I stepped in to save them. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough to save his mother. So, I decided to take him under my wing and become his guardian."

"For what purpose? Don't tell me your next line's gonna be: 'I felt guilty about my decision with my daughter, and my husband, so I'm doing this as a way for slight redemption.'"

"I felt guilty about my decision with my daughter, and my husband, so I'm doing this as a way for slight redemption." said Raven, whom blinked in surprise once she processed what Ozpin had just said. "Wait what?!"

Even Ozpin himself was baffled. But for a completely different reason. _"Did I just pull off a fucking JoJo reference?"_ He shook himself out of that thought and focused. "So, you're really bent on changing yourself, huh?"

"Yeah... But, I'm still hesitant in confronting my family about my whole situation. Maybe someday, I'll gain the courage."

"You'll get there. Eventually." Ozpin laid back down onto the cot he was on and released a sigh. He looked around and did not recognize their current location. From what he could tell, they were in a clearing in the middle of a forest. "Where are we, Raven?"

"In a forest in Anima. Don't worry, there's a town nearby. We were planning on moving there once you've woken up. We'll go once Oscar returns."

Ozpin nodded and stared at the night sky. _"I wonder... Oscar, he seemed familiar. Is it possible that he is supposed to be my reincarnation? If that's the case, then I'm glad that I did not die and awoken inside the body of a young child. But now, what to do?"_

Ozpin ceased his musing and straightened himself out. He needed to recover from his injuries, after all.

* * *

 **Evacuation Airbuses En Route to Patch**

Ruby remained by her sister's side and tried to comfort her as best as she could. Currently, Yang was robed in a classic hospital gown. The stump of her right hand was covered in a set of bandages, the same with her left eye.

Despite Ruby's efforts, they were all for naught. Yang was currently in a state of self-loathing and self-hatred, clearly beating herself up for the loss of her hand and eye. This made her ignore everything around her.

She didn't mean to be cold to Ruby, but comforting doesn't help. It doesn't take away some of the pain she still felt. It was her fault, and her fault alone.

 _"Ruby, please go away. You don't have to carry the blame. It's MY problem, not yours!"_

Luckily for Yang, the sound of the door opening caught Ruby's attention. A medic went in, surveying the entire area. It was Venom.

At first, Ruby didn't understand why a medic was here when one had just finished checking up on everyone. It wasn't until Ruby realized his purpose when she spotted his left arm. It was a prosthetic. And the section of the airbus she's in was filled with others who had lost a limb.

Venom approached them, making Ruby a little nervous. The man offered her a warm smile and a nod. This made the Rosette feel safe. She nodded back. With that out of the way, Venom turned his attention to the unmoving blonde. He grabbed a stool and took a seat.

For a whole minute, Venom just stared at Yang in complete silence. It made things a bit awkward. Ruby stood up and decided to leave the two of them alone.

Finally, Venom broke the silence.

"Look kid, there's nothing you could've done. Things like this happen in war. Be glad that you didn't lose your life."

Yang still remained unresponsive, making Venom frown deeper. The medic sighed and went with option 3.

"A friend once told me - 'Why are we still here? Just to suffer? Every night, I can feel my leg, and my arm. Even my fingers. The body I've lost. The comrades I've lost. It won't stop hurting. It's like its all still there.' These pains, you feel it too, don't you?"

Venom noticed her face scrunch a bit, but otherwise, she had no other reaction. So, he continued.

"Look kid, compared to others I know, what happened to you wasn't so bad. My friend, he was helpless as countless enemies tortured him, then they cut off his arm and leg, and then they left him hanging on to a post. And me? I failed to save a good friend."

"...what happened?" Yang had her attention focused on the medic, her mind drifting away from her self-loathing. "How did you fail to save your friend?"

 _"And so she speaks._ Back then,a former comrade of ours got captured, and our boss set off to rescue her. But it was a trap. While we were heading back to base, we discovered a bomb inside of her. We worked quick to get it out, didn't even have time to apply anesthetics."

Venom crudely smile at his poor attempt of a joke. He berated himself for this and continued.

"We managed to get it out and disarm the thing. But that's when we got the biggest surprise of our lives. The girl woke up and desperately distanced herself from us. We tried to assure her that we got the bomb out, but she dropped a bombshell on us. Literally. She had another bomb inside her. My commander and I tried to reach her, but it was too late. The bomb detonated, and I got hit by most of the blast. It took away my right eye, and gave me quite a few shrapnel that rendered my left arm useless. What's worse, I was in a coma for seven years."

Venom brought up his prosthetic and hovered it over his eye patch. Yang looked horrified, conceding with what the medic said. She did get the lucky end of the draw.

"Why exactly are you telling me this?" she asked.

"To snap you out of your funk." he replied. "You kept on ignoring your sister, who just wanted to comfort you. Yes, what happened to you was bad, but it doesn't give you the right to act so cynical about life. You haven't lost everything, yet. Treat these losses as lessons that you need to improve, to get better. And above all, accept it. Only then, will the phantom pain stop."

Yang looked at Venom and gave him a grateful nod. The medic grunted and gave her a smirk, right before moving on to his next patient. Yang looked down, Venom's words still ringing her mind.

 _"He's right. I can't keep beating myself over what happened to me, but... It's hard to accept that I lost a hand, and my eye. And I need to apologize to Ruby too. Man, I acted so emo, this isn't like me at all!"_ Yang sighed and lied down onto the bed, looking at the white ceiling. Yang contemplated her choices, trying to decide which path to take. However, she fell asleep. The events taking a toll on her mind.

* * *

 **Arcadia**

Anderson's Bullhead landed down onto the airstrip, wherein many people were gathered. The hatches opened up, and out came the paladin and his Axis of Righteousness. The four of them with the crowd's warm welcome, making them smile. This certainly lightened their mood.

Contrary to belief, the people of Arcadia acted just like everyone else in other countries. Stereotypes about Catholics just made everyone think that they were unreasonable assholes.

As soon as it lightened, their mood was quickly dampened as the crowd's cheering turned to booing. Behind the four, Pyrrha, Aphrodite, Weiss and Damien walked out and was met with the dour greetings. While it didn't affect the three non-mortals, it did affect Weiss, however.

The former heiress hugged herself and tried to block out the negative comments. Damien wrapped his arms around Weiss and buried her head into his chest, having the same idea as her.

Before it could escalate into something drastic. A single word from a certain blond hushed everyone up.

 **"SILENCE!"**

Jaune stepped out of uncle's Bullhead and held a steady glare towards the crowd. Everyone began to murmur among themselves when they saw.

"Dear Lord! Is that Jaune?"

"My, he's grown up!"

"He hasn't been here since half a decade ago!"

"Why is he glaring at us?"

Jaune cleared his throat, gaining everyone's absolute attention, his glare still present. The Arc Vampire crossed his arms and spoke.

"The Nikos family, along with Weiss Schnee, will be our guest. Treat them as you would treat your friends. And if you have a problem with that,"

In a flash, Jaune's eyes turned red, making the crowd murmur yet again. Though reluctantly, the crowd started to disperse, leaving them alone. Maxwell and Yumie nodded at Anderson and Jaune before heading off. Jaune turned his head to the still opened hatch, watching as Ren and Nora stepped out, the former looking a bit tired.

"How you feeling, Ren?" softly asked Jaune. "I can only imagine the pain you felt."

Ren gave the blond a reassuring smile as he spoke. "A bit stiff. But otherwise, I'm feeling fine."

Jaune could only nod. It was enough to know that his friend was safe. Nora took a few steps forward, gazing at the view.

"So, this is Arcadia?" asked Nora. She looked around, and she was already liking what she was seeing. "It's SO majestic!"

Anderson chuckled at the girl's reaction and couldn't help but nod in agree. "Aye. Arcadia has been known as the 'Promised Land' to us Catholics. A place where we can be ourselves in isolation, and in peace, all the while, we're surrounded by the beauty of God's work. It's quite the dream, ain't it?"

The eight of them nodded in agreement, looking at the scenery in complete silence...until it was broken by Ren.

"Ow!" he yelped. Ren felt something stinging on his neck and slapped it instinct. He pulled back his hand and saw nothing. "It feels like a mosquito just bit me."

"That's crazy talk, Renny!"

"That's odd." voiced out Heinkel. She rubbed her chin in pure thought, wondering about what Ren just said. "I thought the cold snap killed them. Maybe we should've packed some bug spray."

"...where could we even obtain bug spray? Besides, those spray cans are pretty inconvenient too." commented Jaune.

"You shut your pie hole, Jaune!" exclaimed Heinkel. "Bug sprays are very much useful. You should know that yourself."

"Oh sure. Accidentally set the tree house on fire with pesticide that one time and suddenly you're an expert on it!"

Anderson let out an amused grunt at the two's bickering. It reminded him so much of the good days when they were young. Anderson shook himself out of his reminiscence. He pulled out his Bible and opened it to a specific part, the scriptures ripping off and circling around them. The scriptures then dispersed, revealing their disappearance.

* * *

 **Arc Household**

The flutter of scriptures materialized in front of the home of the Arcs. It then parted, revealing Anderson and the others. Those not of Arcadia stared in awe at the beautiful scenery that surrounded the humble home. Jaune couldn't help but smile at the nostalgia he felt.

"Half a decade. It's been half a decade since I've been here, and it hasn't changed in one bit."

Heinkel nodded in agreement, smiling as she enjoyed the view and disposed of her cigarette. After a few more moments of gazing, Jaune walked up to the front door and brought up his hand and pressed the door bell.

Instantly, Jaune felt extremely nervous, regret washing over him. "Maybe it's not too late to turn-"

The door was flung open, and Jaune found himself wrapped around a tight embrace. The blond craned his neck and saw a familiar mop of pink hair.

"Hey mom." he spoke with affection.

Rose tenderly smiled at the sight and voice of her only son. "My baby boy. Oh how I've missed you."

She broke away from the embrace and walked up to Heinkel, giving her a hug as well. Rose was about to tell everyone to come inside, until her eyes landed on Aphrodite, whom returned the eye contact.

Almost everyone gulped as they could feel the tension permeate the air round them. They thought a fight would happen, until their expectations were defied.

Rose squealed and hugged the red-haired succubus, whom hugged back.

"Aphrodite! It's been so long!"

Everyone was befuddled, Anderson most of all. He highly expected for a brawl to happen. What's more, he didn't expect for both mothers to know each other. He waved his arms around, confusion still written all over his face.

"Wait, wait. Time out! How in heaven high do you two know each other?!"

Rose broke away from the hug she initiated and chuckled. She looked at her and asked him a question. "Jaune, what was my job before I devoted myself into becoming a housewife?"

Instantly, it clicked in heads of the three blonds present, Jaune having the vocal reaction. "Oh yeah! You used to be a supermodel back in the day before you married dad, right?"

"That's right." confirmed Aphrodite. "Rose and I often met along the runaway. We grew interested in each other, not in that way mind you, and became acquainted with one another, before moving on to becoming best friends."

Anderson accepted the reasoning and allowed the two to reconnect for a brief moment.

"So, how's life been treating you? We haven't talked in a while." asked the pinkette.

"Yeah, sorry about that. My agent's been an absolute slave driver, quite aggravating. That, and I spent all my free time with either Pyrrha or Alu-"

The memories of her husband's death came rushing into her mind. The haunting moment made Aphrodite fell to her eyes as the life in her eyes slowly disappeared.

Both Pyrrha and Damien ran up to their mother, pulling her up and in for a comforting embrace. Rose looked at her friend with concern, before directing her attention to her children and Anderson.

"Just what exactly happened in Vale?"

Anderson sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "You better let us in, Rose. It's gonna be a long story."

* * *

"I see. For an invasion to happen so suddenly." softly said Rose, looking baffled.

Anderson sighed and nodded. He grabbed the teapot and poured himself another cup of tea. "Aye. I only returned to gather more help in help speed up the process. Beacon is in ruins, Vale not far behind. The both of them are teeming with Grimm. What's more, a lot of people died… including Alucard."

"To think, the Great Alucard could be slain. I didn't think it was possible." Rose mused. She looked at her friend, offering her a smile. "We'll be here for you, Aphrodite. Take all the time you and your daughter need to grieve."

Aphrodite gave her a weak smile and nodded in appreciation. "Thank you."

"How's the tea, by the way?"

Ren raised his hand, his face looking quite confused. "This is jasmine tea, correct? But, the taste seems...off."

Rose quirked an eyebrow. "That's odd. I didn't add anything extra to the tea. Have you eaten anything before coming here?"

"Nope. We haven't yet." replied Nora.

"My goodness! Heinkel, mind showing or guests where they'll be staying while I start cooking?"

Before she could reply, Jaune cut in to volunteer. "Actually mom, can I-"

He was immediately interrupted by the intense glare his mother was giving him. It could bring fear to even the greatest man. What's worse, her hair was split into exactly nine strands and were wildly waving like tails.

"No, Jaune. Stay. You and I need to have a chat. And I also need someone to help me cook too. " Rose said with the most calm, yet terrifying tone she could muster. And it was enough to make Jaune fall back into his seat.

Heinkel quickly grabbed the others and hurriedly directed them upstairs. Jaune looked into Anderson's direction, about to silently ask him for help, only to find that he had disappeared, leaving him all alone.

 _"Traitors!"_

Jaune gulped, praying to Monty above that he'll survive his mother's wrath. Rose slowly approached her son, her gaze becoming more and more horrifying, it made Jaune pale even more so. So, he did the only logical thing to do in this situation; he screamed to the heavens.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

"Is the coast clear?"

Mercury peeked through the blinds-covered window, scanning the outside. There was not a soul present in the streets, making him narrow his eyes.

"No one's outside. We're good." he told Emerald. "Let's get out of here and into the next town."

The mint-haired girl nodded at the suggestion and stood up from her seat. During the war, they ran away from the battlefield just after their talk with Rip. Now, they were on the run, wanted by the government.

Mercury slowly opened the door, glancing at every direction to make sure that there still wasn't anyone present. He gestured to his companion, signaling to her that they were clear.

The two walked out of the abandoned cottage, before running straight for the forest. If they were being honest, they didn't even know where they were heading. The only thing that concerned them was to get the hell out of there. Once hey were at a sizeable distance from the town, they took the chance to take a breather.

Unfortunately for them, their break would have to be cut short as a group of bandits emerged from the trees, surrounding the two of them. The leader sported a grin, pulling out a stun rod.

"Lookie here~ Wanted criminals with fresh bounties on their heads." He smacked his weapon against a tree, making it spark for intimidation. "Get 'em boys!"

The bandits leered at the two as they took out similar weapons to their leader's.

Emerald grunted and brought out her kusarigamas, slashing them around before striking into a stance. Mercury cracked his neck and raised his knee up to his chest, bringing up his hands in a fighting pose.

One of the bandits moved forward, only to be with the end of Mercury's boot. The criminal drew back his leg and launched guy into the air, before hitting him with a double flying kick, sending him right into his comrades.

Three bandits grew enraged and were about to rush in, only to feel the cold, sharp blades of Emerald's kusarigama strike them in the chest, making them stumble. The mint-haired girl quickly took advantage of this and hooked one of her kusarigama onto the bandit, using it to pull him in for a swift uppercut.

Emerald rolled to the side as she dodged the stun rod. She went for a sweep kick, knocking down the bandit, before stomping down her foot on to the man's face. One of the bandits managed to get the drop on Emerald as she got him from behind, electrocuting her.

Mercury went to her help as he sent out a kinetic blast to the man, knocking him out. The silver-haired male ran up to two more bandits and changed style, doing Capoiera-esque movements. He swept the two off their feet before kicking them both into the trees. Mercury moved swiftly as he shot out more kinetic blasts at the remaining bandits, knocking them out.

The leader looked around, watching as his men writhe in pain. He sighed and shook his head. "What a pitiful display. Just a few hits in and they're already acting like children. I suppose if you want something done right, you do it yourself."

Without warning, the leader ran up to Mercury and managed to get a few well placed hits on him. Mercury managed to intercept the man's next attack and parried him with legs, counterattacking with a knee to the gut. Emerald jumped from behind and slashed him with her kusarigama. She spun around her weapon and flicked it the sides, switching it to its pistol mode.

The leader managed to drive away Mercury in time to dodge Emerald's shots. The illusionist narrowed her eyes and repeatedly pulled the trigger. The bandit smirked and thrust his rod forward, releasing a burst of electricity which acted as a shield of sorts, blocking the shots.

Using their momentary distraction, the leader rushed in and blindsided Mercury. He moved on and smacked Emerald in the face, disorienting her. He followed it with a jab to the stomach, then an elbow to the face, before deciding to just electrocute her.

Mercury groaned holding his head at the sudden attack. He shook off the forming headache and looked forward, seeing Emerald still being shocked. He got onto his hands and sent out a few blasts at the bandit.

The leader drew back his rod and formed the shield yet again. This was enough for Emerald to recover. She turned back one of her pistol into the kusarigama and struck the bandit in the back, embedding her weapon in to the man.

The bandit fell to the ground with a loud thud, his lower half now paralyzed. Emerald was lucky, having accidentally hit a part of his spine that rendered his leg useless.

Mercury walked up to his acquaintance, asking her if she was alright. Emerald brushed off the concern, saying she wasn't hurt, only to immediately wince in pain at the forming bruise on her stomach. The prosthetic user stared at the stun rod with interest. He picked one up and did a few practice swings, sparking occasionally

"You know, these might actually be useful."

With that said, Mercury picked another one up, planning on modifying his fighting style to fit with the use of the stun rods.

"Come on. We need to get moving. We've already wasted enough time dealing with these bandits. We have to get to the next town as quickly as possible." reminded Emerald.

Before any of them could move, the voice of a certain Faunus made their blood run cold.

"Now where are you two going? Leaving so soon? "

Emerald and Mercury slowly turned their heads and saw Tyrian hanging on one of the tree branches with a grin. The sight of the assassin made the two of them think of a single word:

"Fuck."


	23. The Hunt and Recuperation

**It's been one year…**

 **One year since I've first started this story. It's pretty unbelievable that I got this far in. I thank all those who stuck with me through this one year. Thank you for those who continue to support and read this story of mine.**

 **With that said, let's get on with the chapter.**

* * *

Emerald and Mercury took a step back in instinctual fear. Tyrian Callows is a well-known assassin, and a capable tracker due to being a Faunus. What's worse, they've witnessed what he could do during their time in Salem's realm. Mercury clenched his fists and attempted to convert his fear into bravado.

"What do you want with us, Callows?"

Tyrian cackled and shifted his position so that he was sitting on the branch. "The goddess wants the both of you in her realm for judgement. Dead or alive, it doesn't matter as long I give the two of you to her." He brought up a hand to his face and closed it tightly, the claw on his wrist popping out. "And I intend to deliver." he finished with a menacing tone.

A second claw popped out from his right wrist and he pounced. Mercury managed to roll out of the way, but Emerald wasn't so lucky. Tyrian tackled the mint-haired lady and cocked back his arm to impale his claw into her chest. Mercury kicked the assassin on the side of the head, getting him off of Emerald. He ran up to his comrade and helped her stand.

"Come on, come on. Let's get going."

Before they could even take a step forward, a dozen of darts shot out and haloed around them. Tyrian had recovered and he was crawling on the top of a tree. The scorpion Faunus gave then an unnerving grin and spoke random words.

"The fear. The fear! Can't you see it? The fear!"

Emerald gathered her wits and rapidly shot at the psychotic follower. Tyrian cackled as he jumped from tree to tree, easily dodging the gunfire. The assassin clutched onto a branch and used it to swing himself around. With the obtained momentum, he launched himself at the pair. He rocketed to Emerald and knocked her away, right into a tree. Having used Emerald as a stepping stone, Tyrian flipped himself and went for a spin kick, only to be blocked by Mercury. The silver-haired male narrowed his eyes and kicked him away.

The fervent follower recomposed himself and locked eyes with the rebellious renegade, The two circled each other, waiting for the other to make their move.

"You know, I've fought your father in the past, Marcus Black." said Tyrian as he brandished his claws yet again, challenging Mercury and goading him into attacking. "Let's see how the son measures up."

This set something off in Mercury as he rushed in with a pissed off expression. "Don't lump me up with my old man!" he roared. Mercury tried a blade kick, only to be parried. Tyrian buried his fist into Mercury's gut, momentarily stopping him. The scorpion Faunus grinned and struck him twice with his claws, then performed a downward strike, before grabbing Mercury by the neck and kneed him in the face, sending him flying.

Mercury grunted as his back skidded against the ground, until he stopped right at the foot of a tree. Tyrian pulled out a crossbow, already loaded with multiple arrows, and steadily aimed at the son of the mercenary. "Let's see how you taste this." And he pulled the trigger.

Mercury shot up and started break-dancing. Showy it may be, it's also a semi-effective way to dodge small projectiles. The silver-haired fugitive grunted and started shooting out explosive rounds towards Tyrian. The psycho merely smirked and dodged them with ease, even deflecting a few of them right into the trees.

Tyrian placed away his crossbow and jumped back into the trees, using the foliage to hide himself. Mercury slowly stood up and surveyed the area, trying to spot any signs of the scorpion Faunus. He heard a faint rustling coming from behind him. The prosthetic user used his gun boots to launch himself into the air in order to dodge the bolt that was about to skewer him. Mercury quickly did a snap kick, recomposing himself.

"Where the hell is he?" wondered Mercury.

He further strained his eyes, still trying to get a fix on Tyrian's location. He heard rustling coming from the left, prompting him to dash back. However, it was nothing more but a diversion. An arrow shot from the back and struck right into Mercury's leg, earning him a shout of surprise as he forcefully fell to his knees.

"Oh fuck! It just had to strike the joints, didn't it? Damn, so that was just a feint to get my guard down. I have to admit, it was a good move. But fuck, I'm a sitting duck now."

A dozen of bolts shot out from the foliage in each direction, all having one singular target; Mercury. The renegade gritted his teeth and got onto his hand, maneuvering himself as best as he could to avoid the arrows. Once the assault ended, Mercury dragged himself to a tree, propping himself up against it to catch his breath.

Mercury froze up as he heard Tyrian's chuckle ring across the forest. He looked around in a panic, trying to ascertain where the laughter was coming from so he could predict where Tyrian would appear.

"Above? Below? To the left? The right? In front?"

A cold drop of sweat trailed down Mercury's face as three curved blade embedded itself around his throat and his wrists. Even the slightest of movements could get him nicked. Tyrian walked out from behind Mercury, looking at him with a condescending expression.

"You forgot to look behind you, boy."

Mercury could only watch helplessly as Tyrian notched an arrow into his crossbow and aimed it straight at his stomach. Before he could pull the trigger, Emerald ran up from behind and drop kicked the fervent follower. The crossbow fell off Tyrian's grasps, who then crashed onto a boulder.

Emerald took out her kusarigama and hooked them onto the blades restraining Mercury. She pulled back her chains and pried off the blades, allowing Mercury to take off the one on his neck. The silver-haired fugitive rubbed his throat, looking at his comrade with a look of gratitude.

"Thanks."

Emerald outstretched her hand to help Mercury stand. Mercury grunted and shook his head. "Callows broke the joints on one of my prosthetics. Can't even feel it."

The mint-haired female rolled her eyes and knelt down. She slung his arm over her shoulder and slowly stood, Mercury leaning on her for support. Before they could take a step forward, a bolt breezed through them and embedded itself right into the tree in front of them.

With them in momentary shock, Tyrian swooped in and separated the two of them yet again. He then went for Emerald. The psychotic Faunus rushed in and rapidly struck the mint-haired girl, repeatedly attacking her with his claws. He cocked back his arm, before impaling Emerald in the stomach. Tyrian grinned and hosted her up, relishing the pained expression on girl's face.

However, his expression changed into surprise. Emerald faded away, revealing that he was impaling was nothing more but a plain, old log. Tyrian let out a growl of frustration and tossed away the log.

"I forgot about her little Semblance. That little bitch tricked me! She's gonna pay!"

Before he could get the chance to look around, Emerald appeared behind him, whipping around her kusarigama, wielding it with precision and efficiency, slicing up Tyrian's back. Emerald jumped back and manipulated her weapons to embed right into Tyrian's shoulder. However, the assassin had anticipated this move and deflected the blade with his own.

Tyrian quickly grabbed the kusarigama before they could retract and pulled Emerald in for a swift uppercut. The mad man approached and prepared to disable her, only to be kicked in the back of the head. Tyrian growled before he blinked in surprise, seeing Mercury stand before him.

The son of Black grinned and drew out the stun rods he picked up from the bandits earlier. He twirled them around, getting used to their weight before slipping into a stance.

"How?! I shot the joints of your prosthetic leg!"

"Heh. Good thing it didn't disconnect anything, just jammed."

Tyrian growled in frustration, until it eventually turned into laughter. "You know what? I don't even care anymore. I'm just gonna tear off your fucking legs!"

"Bring it on!" Mercury challenged.

Tyrian made the first move and lunged at his prey. Mercury kicked the ground to propel himself back and shot explosive rounds and his attacker. Tyrian deflected the blasts away with his claws, destroying a couple of trees. Mercury landed on a branch and kept on barraging the psycho. Tyrian flipped back, most of the attacking missing him.

Mercury tossed one of the stun rods into the air. He spun around and kicked it right towards Tyrian. The man had no time to react as he was struck right in the stomach, the electricity coursing through his body. Tyrian shouted aggressively, and it didn't even look like he was in pain. Only annoyed.

Tyrian ripped off the rod off of him and threw it back at Mercury, who caught it. Tyrian lunged at Mercury, only to be brought back down by a kusarigama, slamming onto the ground. Emerald grinned and wrapped her foot around the chain of her weapon and pulled Tyrian in, slashing him with blistering speed.

The mint-haired renegade prepared to end it, when she felt something poking her. Emerald looked down slowly and saw that Tyrian's scorpion tail was embedded in her stomach. She shrieked as she felt pain traversed her body. Emerald fell back, starting to look pale.

"Emerald!" shouted Mercury in worry. He threw a few explosive rounds at Tyrian, using them as a diversion as he threw his stun rods behind them.

Tyrian evaded the blasts swiftly. He noticed the rods approaching and smirked. The scorpion Faunus let out a war cry as he deflected them back. Mercury's eyes widened as the rods touched and electrocuted him. Tyrian laughed and lunged at Mercury and bashed him on the head, right before repeatedly slamming his chest, until his Aura rippled and shattered, leaving him defenseless and vulnerable.

Tyrian got off the boy and cracked a very sadistic grin. Mercury screamed in agony as Tyrian's tail stabbed him on the stomach, feeling something additional coursing through his veins. Tyrian looked over him and saw the side effects taking place, making Mercury look pale, weak and quite pathetic.

"You should know by now that a special type of poison is travelling through your body. Slowly, it's paralyzing your limbs until they can no longer function, before it moves on and starts in corroding your entire circulatory system. Night night, little Black. This is the end of the road for you."

Mercury feebly reached out to the assassin, feeling his vision grow darker. Not even a second later, and Mercury released his breath. His arm fell limp and his eyes closed. Tyrian grunted and hefted up Mercury and unceremoniously threw his body right next to Emerald. He dropped down and took notice of a Grimm Seer approaching him. Tyrian immediately knelt, knowing who it was.

"My goddess! You've taken my by surprise. I've just finished my mission."

The Grimm Seer turned translucent, Salem's image appearing on the thing.

 **"I see. What became of Cinder's lackeys?"**

"They refused to come with. And as you commanded, I used force. And paralyzed them with my poison."

 **"Have they perished?"**

"Not yet. They think that they have died, but in reality, they are merely in something similar to a coma-induced state. They can be woken up, provided with my antidote."

Salem looked at her servant with utmost satisfaction. **"Very good. I shall have a Griffon pick up their bodies, as well as transport you back to my realm."**

With that, Salem's image disappeared, and so did the Grimm Seer. Tyrian looked down on the grass and whispered to himself, words back then when his life was simple, before he became a servant to the Mistress of Grimm.

 _"Mission complete. The folks back home will be thrilled."_

He stood up and sat down on one of the many stumps his fight with the two renegades had created, waiting for the Griffon's arrival.

* * *

"Are these cloaks really necessary?" Ozpin asked Raven.

The two of them, along with Oscar, were heading for the near-by town to buy some supplies and, according to Raven, meet up with a certain someone. The former servant of the God of Light tugged at his cloak, feeling a bit uncomfortable wearing it. Raven rolled her eyes and answered him.

"Yes, for the umpteenth time, Oz. Besides your pants, you're not wearing anything else underneath. So unless you want to walk around half naked, zip it and just keep moving."

The former headmaster grunted in response and did as suggested. His gaze monetarily landed on Oscar and couldn't help but feel awkward around him. He knew that the boy was supposed to be the next in line to be his new body. But he defied fate and escaped from his would-be tomb. And right now, he was trying to think of a way to tell to Oscar.

"Obviously, I can't just go in and say, 'Hey, did you know my soul was suppose to wake up in your body and take over it?' That would make me sound like some sort of madman… or a pedophile, depending the context. And I don't want to be labeled as both."

Ozpin took notice that Oscar was about to turn his head to his direction and so quickly shifted his gaze to the front.

"Perhaps, I should keep silent and about it and just not bring it up whatsoever. I'll go with the route of helping Raven with teaching young Oscar how to fight. The potential within him is quite big, it's almost uncannily similar to that of Mr. Arc."

Ozpin snapped himself out of his musings, taking notice that they were steadily approaching the town. Much to his amusement, that town was quite quaint. Even the residents were dressed in a similar he was amused, it also saddened him.

"This goes to show that I haven't been out of Beacon in so long. It feels… nice, to be up and out, visiting the sights."

Once again, he was broken out of musing, this time, by Raven. The female Branwen gave him a handful of Lien and nodded her head at Oscar.

"Here. Take Oscar with you and get the things we need. I'm heading for the nearest bar and meet up with my gossip."

Ozpin nodded and motioned for Oscar to come with. As Raven took a few steps to head to her destination, Ozpin decided to take a chance and asked her something, having an inkling on who she was meeting.

"This gossip of yours… it wouldn't happen to be a dusty, old crow, now would it?"

Raven stopped and looked at Ozpin, her lips curled into a smirk. "Maybe." And she resumed her pace.

Ozpin placed his palm and shook his head, not knowing if he should chuckle in amusement or grunt in bemusement. Oscar approached the man, asking him if something was wrong.

"No. Nothing you should be concerned with, young Oscar." He started walking and motioned for him to follow. "Come. Let's look for the nearest store."

When Raven walked into the bar, she didn't expect it to be so… packed. Every table and every stall were occupied by other a group of people, or someone alone. She frowned and shed her cloak, hanging it on one of the near-by rack.

"Great. How am I suppose to wade out of the people here to look for my brother?"

"Excuse me, are you Raven Branwen?"

The former tribe leader looked to her right, seeing one of the bartenders earlier approach her. Raven quirked her eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Depends on who's asking."

She couldn't help but feel herself more curious when she heard the bartender mutter something to himself. Something along the lines of 'him being on the nose.' He cleared his throat and made a motion for her to follow.

"One of our major patrons is expecting you. He's in one of the booths upstairs."

Raven nodded and went with the bartender. As he said, he led her upstairs, to the booth at the very end. The man nodded and left. Raven entered the booth and was met with the sight of her brother, drinking straight from the bottle.

Qrow released the bottle from his lips and let out a sigh of contentment. "Took ya long enough, Rae. What, got stuck in traffic?"

"Hmph. You're drinking more than usual, Qrow. And- wait... is that whiskey?"

The field agent grunted and took another swig from the bottle. "Well, that's what happens when your lover gets killed right in front of you and you couldn't do anything."

Raven offered her brother a sullen expression and a look of sympathy. "So, Amber is dead?"

"Yep. What's worse, Vale and Beacon are in ruins, Oz is missing, a lot of people died, Yang's missing a hand and an eye, I'm getting even more depressed, and-"

"Wait. Go back to that last part." said Raven, a bit alarmed, wanting to know if she misheard her brother.

Qrow quirked an eyebrow and placed down the bottle of whiskey onto the table ever so slowly. "What? Old age finally creeping up on you that you're hard of hearing? Your daughter lost her hand and got her left eye gouged out! Happy now?"

Raven glared at her brother and resisted the urge to smack his face onto the floor. Her face then softened in concern, remembering her daughter's condition. "Yang… my poor baby girl."

"On that note, since when did you start caring about your family? All you cared about was power, and the tribe. And look where that got you. The whole Branwen tribe was wiped out, all because of your philosophy, leaving you all alone."

 **SMASH**

Qrow didn't flinch when Raven slammed her fist onto the table so hard, it broke into pieces. He did, however, sigh in frustration, knowing the bar was gonna add this up to his tab. Raven gritted her teeth, trying so hard not to cry.

"I made a mistake, alright?! I was foolish and chose the tribe over my friends and team! Is this what you wanted to hear, Qrow?! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I left you all, I'm sorry I abandoned Tai and Yang, I'm sorry I ignored your existence and I'm sorry for being an idiot!"

Qrow took another swig and shook his head. "Sorry ain't gonna cut it, Raven. You know that."

"...I do. Believe me, I regret what I've done. And I've been trying to owe up to my mistakes, repair the bridges I burned. "

"Well, it's a start." Qrow pulled up another table from the ground and placed a few shot glasses. He procured another whiskey bottle and poured his sister a drink. "Even withered plants can be reborn anew."

Raven felt the corner of her lips tug as she accepted the glass from her brother. He raised his glass, prompting Raven to do the same. The two quickly gulped down the liquid and slammed the shot glass onto the table with a satisfying sigh.

"Alright. Let's catch up and trade stories." suggested the older sibling.

* * *

Taiyang patiently waited in the foyer of his home. Hours ago, his brother in-law came bearing bad news, and it set worry over maximum. Every once in a while, he'd look out the window, hoping to see if his daughters had arrive.

"Oum please, don't let them see Summer yet. Not now!" he prayed. The blond peeked through the window yet again, but there still wasn't anyone there. He sighed and kept on waiting.

Eventually, the waiting paid off. Tai heard the sound of an airbus landing, making him swivel and look out again. Finally, he saw Ruby walking alongside a bearded medic, who was pushing a wheelchair which Yang was sitting on. Tai wasted no time in barging out to engulf his daughters in a tearful hug.

"Ruby! Yang!" he cried out in relief.

At first, Ruby let out an 'oof' in surprise, before she returned her father's hug. Yang was in the same boat, albeit she only used her left arm to return it. Venom watched from the sidelines and smiled warmly at the sight.

It's always great to see family be reunited.

Tai broke away from the hug, looking over his daughters, trying to see if Qrow had left anything out from his story. Fortunately, Ruby had no major injuries, apart from the bandages wrapped around her head, and Yang had some bandages wrapped around her stump and an eyepatch over where her left eye was once was.

 _"But still, to lose a hand and half of your sight at such a young age… I've always prayed that a tragedy like that would never befall any of my daughters, but looks like Yang was very unfortunate."_

Tai placed a bit of distance from his daughters and himself. He looked at Venom gave him a grateful nod. The medic nodded back, before looking back at the girls.

"Alright, Yang, I'm recommending you to rest for about two weeks. Don't do anything strenuous to your body, especially fighting. Make sure you regularly clean your eye socket, so it doesn't get infected. Ruby, same with your sister. Get some rest, and also drink plenty of fluids. That will be all. Oh, and Mr. Xiao Long. Mind if I speak to you in private?"

The father nodded and motioned for Ruby to push Yang inside so they could get a bit of privacy. Once they were gone, Tai looked at the medic with a questioning gaze.

"What did you need me for, doc?"

Venom sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll be straightforward with you, Mr. Xiao Long. I need you to observe your daughter for an amount of time."

"Daughter? You mean Yang?"

To his confusion, Venom shook his head negatively. "No. I mean your youngest, Ms. Rose." he specified, earning him a surprised look from the blond.

"Ruby? Why? Is something wrong with her?" Tai started to get filled with panic and worry, wondering why would the medic ask of him to observe Ruby.

"I'm not the best with comes with psychological warfare, but I do believe that Ms. Rose is showing signs of PTSD."

Tai's eyes widened in disbelief. "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Ruby's suffering from that?!"

"Not yet, but she's showing signs of it manifesting. I don't know the full story but I heard from one of my comrades that she suffered quite a blow to the head after a missile blew up near her. And another thing, I heard she enjoyed killing all the ghouls she encountered. She ended their lives with a smile on her face. While on the airbus, I heard her whispering to herself. I couldn't quite catch what she was saying, but I got the gist that she wanted to go back and kill more."

"I see…" responded Tai, clearly shaken up by what Venom just told him. He had just been flat out told that his daughter was starting to develop a like for killing, finding it enjoyable. "I'll do what I can, try to curb it before it can fully grow."

Venom merely nodded. With nothing else to discuss about, Tai bid Venom farewell and went inside his home. The medic sighed and pulled out a black, electronic cigar, along with some sort of Scroll-like device. He placed the cigar in his mouth and hovered the device under it, the image hologram of a fire lighting it up.

* * *

Pyrrha sat on the balcony, watching as the sun slowly set. Currently, she was all alone, wanting to keep it that way for the time being. While the comfort of Jaune's presence was welcome, she just needed some time by herself so she could gather her thoughts.

"Hey, Pyrrha."

And now she wasn't alone.

Pyrrha craned her head and saw a mop of white hair, blue eyes, with a scar going down their right eye. "Weiss. What brings you here?"

The former heiress walked up to the sulking redhead and joined her in watching the sunset. "Just wanted to see the sunset. Jaune told me that the balcony had the best view for it." she responded.

The vampiress nodded in agreement. The view on the balcony was indeed the best to view the beautiful sunset. The two of them watched as the sun slowly descended from the sky. Weiss let out a sigh, adopting a somber look.

"For years, I've yearned to be free of my father's control, to be my own woman, and now, I've finally achieved it. Although it costed me my position as heiress, my chance to turn back my grandfather's business into what it once was. Now that I'm no longer a heiress, now that I'm free, I don't know what to do now."

Pyrrha allowed a similar look to creep up her face as she closed her eyes and concurred with what Weiss said. "I'm on the same boat as you. Never did I, or anyone for that matter, ever expect for Beacon to be attacked. What's worse, my papa died. The both of us are lost, not knowing which path to head for next."

Weiss hummed in agreement. She pushed herself off the railings and stared at the darkening sky. "But we're not alone. We have our friends, our family, and most importantly, our lovers. They're here so they can help us find our way, help us pick back ourselves up if we ever fall down."

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at Weiss, appreciating just how much she has changed. From the snobby, elitist and racist rich girl came a humble, helpful and non-discriminant friend. The two of them continued to watch the sun retreat and the moon's rising, accompanied by the many stars.

SNIP

Pyrrha blinked in confusion as she heard something get cut. She looked to the side and was surprised to see Weiss clutching a handful of her ponytail hair on one hand and a pair of scissors on the other. She raised her hand into the air and scattered her hair into the wind. Now, Weiss's hair only reached up to her shoulders, sort of in a bob cut style.

"To a fresh start. Towards the path of becoming a new person." muttered Weiss.

Unbeknownst to Weiss, her words made a impact on Pyrrha, who finally made a decision on what to do. The redhead couldn't help but chuckle and got off the railing, joining Weiss in watching the moon settle itself into its position in the dark sky.

"Yes indeed... towards the path of becoming a new person."

* * *

Penny stretched out her limbs for the umpteenth time let out a satisfied sigh. She had just gone through her daily maintenance and strangely, she felt stiff. And that is something that has never happened before.

 _"Father must've done some modifications to my senses!"_ she gleefully thought.

Right now, she was wandering around the main Atlesian base, trying to find something to do. Penny stopped in her tracks as she detected a voice coming from the Communications Hub.

"Hmm, strange. There shouldn't be anyone in that facility. An intruder, perhaps?" mused Penny. She summoned two of her swords and quietly crept up to the room's entrance. Lucky for her, the door was slightly ajar. Penny peeked into the room and spotted-

 _"Uncle Ironwood?"_

From what she could see, Ironwood was talking to someone, although he was alone.

"Look, our force are deplete and our weapons are barely even affecting them. We need you back, more than ever."

Strange enough for Penny, she heard someone reply.

 **"James, I know what you're getting at, but I've sheathed my sword for a reason. On and on, people keep on fighting for reasons they don't believe in. I'm tired of spilling innocent blood, and I'm tired of letting him take control."**

"But if you don't come back, more blood will be spilled! Besides, we're not dealing with ordinary soldiers here, they're all supernatural, and I'm pretty sure you're experienced in something like that?"

 **"...Just what exactly are we dealing with here, James?"**

"Ghouls. Blood sucking freaks who don't know when to die. Not only that, I've received intel about the enemy having mechas called Steel Cogs."

 **"Hold on, go back just a second. Are we sure we're not dealing with vampires? Because I've had enough with one, thank you very much. And seriously? Steel Cogs? That's just a blatant rip-off of Metal Gear!"**

Ironwood reined his laughter and instead sighed, showing just how tired he was. He straightened himself and placed his hands behind his back, going back to the original topic.

"Will you lend us a hand? For old time's sake."

 **"...I'll think about it, James. I'll call you when I've made my decision."**

Ironwood could only grunt in response as the other voice stopped talking. By now, Penny was long gone, having managed to get back to her quarters in a moments time. The ginger-haired android plopped down onto the soft bed, her mind drifting back to the voice who was speaking with Ironwood.

 _"That voice… Was that_ _who I think it is_ _?"_


	24. Timeskip Part 1

**I know. I'm sorry. Time skips are a cheap way to progress the story, but I couldn't figure out a way to move the story forward, so I went with this. I tried to make it not that huge of a time jump, and went for two months. There'll be a second, and perhaps a third parts of the time skip, showing the progression of others and to establish their current status.**

 **Once again, I'm deeply sorry for my decision. Also, fair warning, MGS elements ahead. And I don't own that, Konami does, unfortunately.**

 **On with the chapter! Read and review!**

* * *

Two months have passed by. Two months since the kingdom of Vale was attacked by both the Grimm and Millennium, leaving it in a state of disrepair. Luckily, it wasn't that badly destroyed so it was still very much suited for the people to live in.

With the collaboration of the Atlesian military, the Iscariot Organization, Hellsing and what remained of Vale's forces, they managed to reclaim the kingdom through the last months. All that was left is to rebuild what the Grimms and Ghouls destroyed.

Glynda slumped down onto the ground, under the shade of a tree, releasing a few pants. She took off her glasses and wiped the sweat building up on her face and decided to rest for a moment. With her Semblance, it was easy to repair and rebuild, but using it a rapid pace also exhausted her.

The blonde professor looked up, Ironwood handing her a bottle of orange juice. Goodwitch accepted it graciously and unscrewed the cap to take a sip of the liquid. The General looked at the woman softly and spoke in an equally soft tone.

"Rest up, Glynda. We'll handle it from here, you've done quite enough."

Goodwitch shook her head and placed by the cap on the bottle. "I can still provide my assistance, James. I do appreciate your concerns, but I'm not that fragile."

"On the contrary, you currently are."

The two turned to the side and saw Angela walking up to them, holding a tablet Scroll. The field medic tapped on the screen, bringing up a chart that held Goodwitch's Aura levels and showed it to them.

"Right now, your Aura's bordering on red. I highly advise you to stop, take a breather, and let the others take over." Seeing her lips part, Angela was quick to intervene. "Ah ah ah! Doctor's orders, Professor Goodwitch."

With that, the field medic strode out, heading back to the emergency tents. Ironwood smiled in amusement, crossing his arms. "Well, you heard the doctor, Glynda. I'll keep you up-to-speed as we move on. Don't worry."

The blonde warmly smiled at the General and relented. She leaned back onto the tree and took another sip from her bottle.

"Just be sure to NOT excavate the vault just yet." she reminded, her smile being simmered down by a frown. "Qrow would want to lead it."

The General understood and nodded. "On the subject of Qrow, have you heard anything from him?"

"Not yet. He hasn't sent any sort of message as of right now."

Ironwood pursed his lips in thought. "I see." He turned and went back to help in the construction.

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha stared at each other, sweat dripping from their faces. Currently, they were in a training room. And least to say, it was quite wrecked. Walls were broken, the ground was drilled with holes, a lot of training dummies were either ripped apart or nearly burnt to ashes.

Not much had changed for Jaune, apart from his hair having grown longer and slightly becoming more spikier. His apparel was still the same. The same could be said for Pyrrha, who didn't change that much during the two months, apart from the longer hair and her eyes having gained an orange undertone.

"You can do better than that, Pyr!" tauned the blonde.

Jaune raised his shield and blocked a medium-sized fireball thrown at him. He lowered it and looked at his girlfriend. Pyrrha's fist was in ablaze, her eyes flickering from orange to red. She opened up her hand, the fire transferring to the palm of her hand and shaped itself into a ball the size of a melon.

Pyrrha reared back her arm and threw the fireball at the blond. Jaune went into defensive position and blocked the projectile. This time, he was pushed back by a couple of feet. Jaune smirked and drew out Nigrum Mors, firing at Pyrrha.

The vampiress's eyes glowed as she effortlessly blocked the bullets with her hand. She spun around and went into a kamehameha pose, fire gathering between the palms of her hands. Pyrrha roared and thrust her hands forward, releasing the flames into a beam of inferno.

Jaune's eyes widened in surprise and horror at the sheer size of the projectile. He planted down his foot and pushed his shield forward.

The blast of flame made contact and threatened to push Jaune forward. The Arc Vampire grunted, struggling to stand his ground. Pyrrha smirked and added more power behind the attack, taking notice that she was pushing Jaune back. The flames' heat rose, slowly starting to turn into a scorching white.

Jaune winced at the heat and struggled to remain firm. In an effort to keep himself still, he flicked his weapon and turned it into its blade form. He slammed it onto the floor and buried it deep. Despite this, he slowly felt himself loose his grip on his blade and be carried off by the blast. He gritted his teeth and tried to push forward, however, this would all be in vain. The beam of inferno broke through and pushed him into the wall, making shout in pain, the fire masking him.

Pyrrha would've flinched, but she bit it down, reminding herself that her boyfriend wouldn't get hurt that easily unless he was trying to get her guard down. Pyrrha leaned back, avoiding a blade that threatened to slice off her head. Using her position to her advantage, she got onto her hands and did a cartwheel to dodge Jaune's downward stab and flipped back to further the distance between them.

Pyrrha reached out behind her, her shield materializing out of flames. She acted swiftly and blocked Jaune's next strike. The blond grunted and performed an overhead strike, only to be blocked again. He didn't relent and kept on striking his mistress, hoping to chip her defenses.

He'd get the opportunity as Pyrrha dashed back and spun around in order to perform a back kick. Jaune forgone his shield in order to parry the kick and pull her in for an elbow jab to the cheek, making her stumble. He moved in and followed it up with a palm thrust to the stomach and ended it with a sweep kick.

Jaune straddled his girlfriend and brought down Nigrum Mors to her face. However, Pyrrha managed to stop it with her hands, the blade inches away from her face. The both of them struggled, trying to push back the other. Pyrrha smirked and looked at her boyfriend tauntingly.

"Come on, Jaune. Is this your best?"

"Hmph." he scoffed. Jaune smirked back and put in more effort in pushing down his sword. "You're holding back quite a bit yourself, you know? So how about we both stop this little facade of ours and actually get at it?"

The blade dropped and stabbed through Pyrrha, only it didn't. The redhead phased through the weapon and kicked off her boyfriend, quickly proceeding to flip herself up. Pyrrha traced her finger on her lips, looking at Jaune with a bit of bedroom eyes.

"Already going for round two when we haven't finished round one, eh?"

Jaune picked up his shield and twirled around his sword, meeting back Pyrrha's look with a teasing smirk. "You act as if you don't like it."

The two of them circled each other, exuding off a bit of power. They both stopped and went into positions, preparing to engage yet again in another bout of fighting.

However, someone interrupted them.

"Alright, that's enough."

Mistress and servant saw Maxwell walking up to them, a slightly amused expression on his face. Nothing really changed for Maxwell, relatively looking the same. The bishop crossed his arms, looking around the ruined training area. He could only sigh at the condition of the room.

"If it weren't for the fact that I know that the both of you are vampires, I'd say a tornado just so happened to come by here to wreck this place."

Jaune and Pyrrha sheepishly smiled, rubbing the back of their heads, making Maxwell shake his head. "Be glad that this room is self-repairing."

As he said this, the cracks in the wall, the holes in the floor were to starting to get restored, back into their prime condition. Although, the destroyed dummies were not replaced. This earned a look of confusion from the two, before Jaune had a look of realization.

"Oh, that's right. The training dummies aren't exactly apart of the Training Room, so they don't get restore alongside the room."

"That's correct." confirmed Maxwell. "The dummies have to be replaced manually." The bishop smirked and uncrossed his arms. "Or, just tap your foot twice."

Maxwell did just that and a panel from under the dummies opened up, lowering down the remains, before being replaced by new ones. The white-haired man nodded, finally content with the result. He looked at his nephew and his girlfriend, his expression into turning into a concerned one.

"You and your friends leave today, right?"

Jaune nodded. "Mhm. We plan on starting out our hunt for the Grimm Queen once we've set off for Mistral."

Maxwell sighed and placed a hand over the blond's shoulder. "Are you and your friends up for this, Jaune? Though we haven't been attacked again, we are still at war with the Grimm and Millennium. It's dangerous and very risky."

"And that's exactly why we need to do it." argued Pyrrha. "They won't suspect that there'll be anyone following the trails Cinder left behind so we can trace them back and find the Grimm Lands. They'll assume that we'll be busy repelling off against the invading forces."

"Yeah." agreed the blond. "From there, we can scout their forces, determine how big their numbers are, then, we could launch a surprise attack, get them while their guard is down."

"Well, when you put it like that." conceded the bishop. "On the off-chance your group gets discovered and they divert their forces to intercept you, it'll be nothing but a waste of men and resources. I suppose you two do have a point."

Pyrrha and Jaune smiled, before it turned into confusion when Maxwell told the latter that his father was looking for them.

"Huh? Why's dad looking for me?"

Maxwell shrugged. "I do not know. All I know is that he is looking for you and Pyrrha. He's waiting for you at the medical bay."

Jaune nodded. He and Pyrrha walked out of the room to head for the medical bay, leaving Maxwell alone. The white-haired Catholic ran a hand through his hair and softly looked at the rosary clenched in his hand.

"God Almighty, please guide their path and ensure their safety." he prayed.

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha entered the medical bay, seeing Argent fiddle with a syringe. The silvery-blond haired man took notice of his son and his girlfriend's entrance and ushered them in.

"Ah! Jaune, Pyrrha. Come in, come in. I was just about to look for you two. Join your friends, if you may."

The two of them saw at the right that their friends were indeed there. Ren was reading a magazine while Nora leaned against him. Weiss and Damien were discussing something to each other, probably something about their future.

Ren grew out his hair, reaching up to his back. He forgone his collared shirt and instead went with a black cloak, showing off his arms, having gained a few muscles. Due to no longer having sleeves, he opted to strap StormFlower in holsters. Other than that, he changed nothing to his appearance.

Nora didn't really feel the need to change anything with her, and relatively stayed the same. Weiss and Damien, however, had the most drastic of changes.

Before the invasion, Damien had dressed to impress, but now he was now more suited to be in combat. He wore a two-piece black, skintight suit, reminiscent of what motor racers would wear. He had on white-tinted shoulder pads, arm guards with spikes decorating its sides and black finger-less gloves, alongside the sleeves were a white line, reaching up to his elbow. On this lower half, he had knee pads with the same tint and streamlines, along with combat boots.

His hair, once reached up to his back, was now mid-length, only reaching up to his shoulders, having styled it to give him one long bang, directly covering the left side of his face. His hook swords were safely strapped on his back, his bat-like wings and tail strangely absent.

Weiss's hair had been cleanly cut to a cute bob cut, her hair now only reaching up to her neck. She wore a short, glittering dress with a gradation of blue as it went down, a sweetheart neckline and a white tulle petticoat. A slightly sheer long-sleeved blue shrug fastened at the collar with a large sapphire broach. Printed on the back was Damien's emblem. Her skirt reached up to the floor and split to her thighs on one side. Completing her new attire were snowflake earrings, a red scarf with a white design on the end and chunky heels.

Jaune and Pyrrha approached their friends, greeting them with a wave. "Hey guys. What's up?"

Ren closed the magazine he was reading and placed it back in the shelf besides him. "Just waiting on you two." he said. "I don't want to spoil anything, but your father's gonna give us an advantage."

Before the two of them could ask what he meant, Argent came to them, holding the syringe he was fiddling with earlier. He motioned for the couple to take a seat so he could get started. Argent grabbed a couple of wipes and started rubbing it over Pyrrha's neck.

Jaune raised an eyebrow in curiosity and looked at his father. "So, what's this about, dad?"

Argent moved away from Pyrrha and took hold of the syringe yet again. "I'm sure you're well aware about it, Jaune. Back then, radios were already made obsolete here in Arcadia when it was just being introduced in the four main kingdoms due to a certain system we used."

Realization dawned in Jaune's eyes, along with a glint of excitement. "The CODEC?!" he uttered in glee.

"Oui. The CODEC. I've already injected nanomachines into the four of them, and now I need only to inject you two."

Having no idea what it meant, Pyrrha couldn't help but ask what they're talking about. "What is the CODEC?"

"Think of it as a much more advanced form of radio communication, but you also don't have a radio. The CODEC is a communication system designed by an old, military nation separate from the kingdoms. It's an internal radio injected into a person through nanomachines and the way it works is that the nanomachines will stimulate the bones of your ear, and you will only be able to hear it. In short, think of it like as a better version of telepathy."

Damien, being able to use telepathy, quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. "How is it better?"

"While telepathy is a good thing, you would need a telepath to hold the connection. So if the telepath is removed, the connection is broken. But with the CODEC, you don't need such thing. Although back then, you would need the CCT for it to work, but we've managed to upgrade it so you could converse with others injected with nanomachines. What's more, we already have a satellite in space for long-range transmission in case the CCT is not functioning. I'll give a proper demonstration once I've injected you both."

Pyrrha nodded. She held herself still as Argent poked her neck with the syringe. The redhead felt something surge through her veins and mix into her blood. Pyrrha let out a soft sigh as Argent pulled out the syringe. He walked up to his son and did the same. Argent took a few steps back and placed his index and middle finger on his right temple.

The six of them blinked in surprise as they heard something ring. They looked around and tried to look for the source, until Jaune realized what it was.

"Guys, do what my dad did."

Trusting in the blond, they copied Argent's motion and to say the least, the five of them gasped to hear his voice, yet not see his mouth move.

 **{** **Welcome to the CODEC, children.** **}**

 **{** **Man! I've dreamed of talking this way ever since I was a kid!** **}** said Jaune, his tone full of excitement.

 **{** **Speak as you normally would, children.** **}** instructed Argent. **{** **You will not see your lips move, it will immediately convert into nanotech-based speech so you would appear to be silent, but in reality, you are talking to someone.** **}**

 **{** **Woah! This is so cool!** **}** gushed Nora, having the same amount of excitement as her leader.

 **{** **Yes, I'll have to admit. This seems more practical than regular telepathy.** **}** conceded Damien. He could not deny the fact that technology this piece of technology outdid magic.

 **{** **Are there more features or perhaps downsides to this CODEC** **?}** asked Pyrrha.

 **{** **Ah yes. The CODEC can allow you to privately converse with a single person in a separate channel by switching to their frequencies. By now, a set of numbers will be implanted into your heads; those are your frequencies. It's also capable of video communication, meaning you and the person you are talking to can see each other. Although, there is no need for that since we are all in the same room. And as for downsides, well, I'd say there are none, apart from those I've mentioned earlier.** **}**

 **{** **Question, do we have to keep doing this hand motion every time to start up the CODEC?** **}** questioned Ren.

This time, it was Jaune who answered. **{** **From what I remember, that hand motion is only done if you are new to activating the CODEC and it shortens the process. You'll find yourself doing it less and less as you use it more until it's practically innate for you to activate mentally** **.}**

 **{** **Yes, that's correct. That's all there is for the tutorial of the CODEC. Let's end transmission for now.** **}**

All of them lowered their hands. Argent walked up to his son and pulled him in for a hug. "Stay safe, Jaune." he whispered into his son's ear.

The Arc Knight nodded and returned the hug. "Don't worry, dad. I have my friends with me." he assured the man.

Argent broke away from the action and gave him a sad smile and waved. "Be sure to say good bye to your mother, alright?"

Jaune nodded. He looked at his friends, all whom looked determined and ready to go. He nodded yet again and motioned for his friends.

"Come on. Let's get ready and pack up."

* * *

 **Private Air Docks**

JNPR, Weiss and Damien stood at the air docks, accompanied by Aphrodite and Rose.

"Do you have everything packed?" asked the concerned Arc matriarch.

Jaune nodded, securing the bag on his shoulder. "Double checked everything, mom."

"Just to be sure, it doesn't hurt to triple check. Do you have rations and water?"

Jaune pulled the aforementioned items with a smile. "Check."

"First aid kit?"

Ren showed it to the mothers, making Jaune nod. "Check."

"Camping equipment?"

Nora let out a grin as she pulled out a large box. "Check!"

"A change of clothes?"

Each and everyone one of them nodded as they resounded as one. "Check."

"What about condoms?"

Cue in a rosy blush staining everyone's cheeks as they looked at Aphrodite, who was the one had said it, with an incredulous look. Damien and Pyrrha had the most vocal reaction. "M-Mother!"

Rose giggled into the palm of her hands, trying to stile it while Aphrodite outright laughed.. "Kidding, kidding! You're all adults now, we trust you to do the right thing."

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at her mother. She was finally back to her old self. It was nice to hear her joke around and laugh again. Aphrodite walked up to her children and wrapped them in a tight embrace.

"I'll miss the two of you dearly. Stay safe, alright?"

The two redheads nodded with a hum, reciprocating the hug. It was the same with Jaune and Rose, the latter letting loose a few tears.

"Always be cautious and try not to get in harm's way, okay Jaune?"

Jaune tightly hugged his mother, crying a little bit as well. "I'll try my best, mom."

A sudden noise forced the intimate moment as a sudden gust of wind blew against ground, kicking up some dust that forced them to block their eyes as to not get hit by it. The former students and Damien looked at the source of the noise with wide eyes.

"Is that…a helicopter?" asked a bewildered Weiss. "But I thought that all helicopters were decommissioned after the invention of the Bullheads and Airbuses?"

"Well, some prefer the classics." answered Rose, shrugging her shoulders. "And besides, this helicopter was a gift. We can't just throw it away. Now, this here is the UTH-66 Blackfoot, a military helicopter that was mostly used to transfer troops and supplies. But not, it will be your ride to your destinations. Take care, everyone."

The six of them nodded and walked up to the aircraft. Automatically, the doors slid opens, allowing them to enter. At the pilot seat, they saw a man wearing an ordinary pilot suit, his face hidden by the tinted glass of his helmet.

"Hey, everyone. The name's Morhpo and I'll be your pilot for this here beauty. If you need to get out or be extracted out of somewhere, I'm your guy. If you need air support, I'm still your guy. You can also contact me on CODEC. My frequency is 141.74, alright? Fasten your seat belts, we'll be taking off."

The teens got onto the seats and did as they were told. They strapped in and relaxed themselves as the doors closed and the helicopter increased altitude, taking off.

The two mothers smiled as they waved goodbye to the disappearing helicopter.

Once they were at a sizable distance and altitude, Morpho gave them the signal that they could take off their seat belts, but also reminded them not to move around much.

"So, we're heading for Mistral, right?"

Before any of them could confirm, Ren had cut them all off with a different destination in mind.

"Actually, would you mind taking us to Kuroyuri first?"

If it weren't for the helmet on his head, they might have seen Morpho's face scrunch up in confusion. "Kuroyuri? I heard that settlement was destroyed years ago. Why would you wanna go there?"

Ren's face turned somber as he looked down and tightly clenched his fist. "Because it was my home, along with Nora's. I… I want to pay my last respects to it so I can move on from my past."

Everyone looked at Ren and Nora with sadness and sympathy, unable to decide how to feel for them.

"It's not my place to call." said Morpho. "Your gonna have to confer with Jaune, over there."

The blond's eyes widened, certainly surprised that the pilot knew who he was. "Wait, how do you know my-"

"I knew your dad. He and I used to be old drinking buddies. Haven't caught up with him in a long time, though. But getting back on topic, it's your decision to make, kid, if you wanna go through a detour."

Jaune looked conflicted. He looked at Pyrrha for orders, who only gave him a smile and an answer.

"Jaune, just because I'm your mistress doesn't mean you can't order me around. You're still my leader after all."

The Arc Vampire sighed in relief and gave her a grateful look. Jaune turned his head to Morpho. "Go ahead, Morpho. Take us to Koruyuri!"

The pilot nodded and pressed a couple f buttons. "Copy that. Switching destinations. Now en route to Koruyuri."

* * *

 **Grimm Lands**

"Why didn't we attack anyone during the past two months, Herr Major?"

This was a question asked by a majority of the soldiers in Millennium. They were getting anxious to charge into a fight, and they were very dismayed they did not take advantage of Vale's current situation. Right now, this question was asked by Rip herself.

She was alone with the Major, who stood on top of a cliff face, overlooked many of his men either conversing or fighting with one another.

"Don't worry, First Lt. Rip Van Winkle. As much as I wanted to attack them at full force, it would've been very boring. I'd rather we fight them on equal terms."

This confused the false-vampire quite so. "Eh? But aren't we already on equal terms? You've knocked Alucard out of the board!"

"Yes, but they still have many more powerhouses. Those include; Anderson, Maxwell, Walter, and most troubling of all, Aphrodite. Her daughter is of no concern. Sure, she absorbed Cinder, but she still lacks proper training. I doubt she'd pose a threat against us."

Rip twirled around her musket, asking her superior on what the next phase of their plan is. Major swiveled around, showing Rip his maniacal grin.

"We already have plans for Aphrodite. She is not the biggest threat to us, although, we must erase her first. Spread to your comrades in the Wolfenstein Squad that one of you will be chosen to help partake in the operation."

A similar grin appeared on the freckled-girl's face and gave him a salute. "Of course, Herr Major! Anything for you, und our fuhrer!"

However, but before Rip could run off, Major had stopped her in her tracks to ask her a question.

"First Lt. Rip Van Winkle, do you know how Der Fresichuts ends? Kaspar, having trifled with the Black Huntsman Zamiel, is whisked away for his sins. His corpse is then thrown away into a ravine to be eaten by wolves."

Rip looked confused, yet scared at the same time. "Why are you asking me this, Herr Major?"

"I'm merely telling you to prepare yourself, First Lt, for you may be the one that Zamiel collects."

The freckled woman looked scared and frowned, before her lips curled into a wicked grin. "Then let him come!" She pulled out her musket and grinned menacingly. "I shall be the one who throws him away into the ravine. I will not die because I have sinned! Fuck that, I have privileges!"

Major merely chuckled and faced his back to one of his lieutenants, not letting her see the devious grin on his face that was directed at her.

"Oh whatever you say, First Lt. Whatever you say."

* * *

 **1st Person View - ?**

W-Where am I? Why does everything seem to…hurt? And why can't I move my body? Wait. This cold feeling on my wrist. Am I being restrained. Hold on. Why can't I feel my other arm?! And why can't I feel anything below at all! Where the hell are my legs?!

"Ah. Good. You've woken up. Forgive me for you current arrangements, but I had theorized you would not awaken until I had finished with your new body."

New body? What the hell is guy talking about?! On that note, who is this guy?! And why did he bound me, blinded me, AND is apparently making me a new body? Bullshit. But… it must be for good reason, right? Why else would he be helping me?"

"Tell me, do you have any difficulty speaking? Can you hear me? Nod if you can."

I did just that. I hesitantly and slowly nodded my head. The man was probably nodding in approval. I could hear something shifting but I paid no heed to it as the man spoke up.

"How do you feel? Can you speak? What is your name? When were you born? Your friends, if you had any. Are you human, or Faunus? Are you a Huntsman? Or do you work for a different type of organization?"

First off, how do I feel? I feel like shit. My body's aching like it was tossed into a wood chipper, grounded up by a cheese grater, then repeatedly slammed down by a machine press. And my name? It's… wait. Why can't remember anything?! I, I don't have any recollection about me! W-What the hell? Who am I? When was I born?! Am I human or Faunus?! Why don't I know. I was about to open up my lips to voice my complaints, but I was severely interrupted before I could even begin.

"AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!"

Pain. Excruciating pain is going through my body. Electricity! Am I being shocked?! Argh! I can't think properly! Not with this voltage coursing through me! Damn it! What's up with this man and why is he doing this to me?!

"Ah ah ah. Cyborg soldiers aren't supposed to talk unless given permission. That's what you are. Nothing more, nothing less. A tool of destruction to be directed to a location to wreck havoc. Forget your past. Forget your emotions. Your goals, aspirations, mission. Everything. This is your fate. Resign to it! Discard that petty thing you call freewill."

No! I. Need. To stay. Strong! I. Am not. A puppet to bent! I have. My freewill. To see me through!

"I suppose I could let you see my face before your consciousness is buried deep by the A.I. I am about to install in to you."

I heard the click of a button. And in an instant, the pain stopped. But why do I feel tired? Why do I feel weak? What is this? This feeling of…hopelessness and lost. I may not remember, but my body does. And it doesn't like it one bit. I could only let out a grunt as light suddenly invaded my sight. I tried to refocus my vision as fast as I could so I may see this bastard who dared try to torture me!

In front of me was the absolute definition of a mad scientist. He looked exactly the part of it. It was an old man, his left eyes glowed evilly. From what I could I see, he had disheveled gray hair, a matching mustache and a beard. From the looks of it, he's wearing a gray jacket with a high collar, and he had a red robotic arm. And now's grinning me condescendingly! Just who the fuck does this scientist think he is?!

"Say farewell to your memories, and greet your new fate! Serving your new master, Merlot!"

I growled and tried to push myself up so I could throttle the man. But the restraints didn't let me. That, and this weird tiredness I'm feeling. I can't do anything. I feel so helpless! My eyes started to droop, the feeling of unconsciousness overtaking me. As my eyes unwillingly closed, the sound of the man's laughter echoed through my mind.

* * *

 **3rd Person View**

Merlot continued to laugh as he gazed upon his most recent experiment. One of his scouting drones had stumbled upon this man during its patrol, and he could not let the opportunity slip by. He was running out of fresh test subjects to perfect his research in cybernetics, and this close-to-dead Faunus was the most perfect subject for him to test on!

Merlot strokes a few keys on his keyboard and inserted back the Faunus into its operating pod so he could fully install his other missing parts. His right arm and his legs were the most modified, the injuries far beyond healing. Luckily, he was already missing his left arm, and he had a spare that already the fit the Faunus' body structure.

The mad scientist let out a giddy laugh as a sheathed sword caught his gaze. The weapon came along with the Faunus, and it was already an amazing craft, but then a thought occurred to him: 'what if it was re-outfitted with high frequency technology!"

The man could not resist at the thought of an obedient, and nigh-unstoppable slave equipped with a blade that can through anything fed to his ego very much.

Merlot shook himself out of his thoughts and looked at his cyborg with satisfaction.

"Now, all that is left to install the obedience chip and the customized A.I.!"

"That's going to have to wait, Herr Merlot."

Merlot swiveled around, shocked to the core that someone had discovered his hidden laboratory. However, he soon calmed himself once he saw who had spoken.

"Ah. Doktor. You had surprised me."

Millennium's Top Scientist bowed in greeting and looked around the lab with a hint of awe. "I must say, Herr Merlot, this is quite the set up you have. You must have the most fortunate luxury in tinkering with robots."

Merlot grinned as he puffed up his chest in pride. "But of course! No one knows of my location. I have all the time I need to experiment and create new things." His expression grew serious, looking at the Nazi with a questioning gaze. "Which brings me to my question; how did you discover this place?"

Doktor responded as he pushed up his glasses. "It wasn't easy, but Herr Arthur was very kind enough to help us track you down. For you see, Herr Merlot. We've come with an offering."

"Offering?" he asked. "Of what kind?"

A grin encompassed the lips of the scientist from Millennium as he replied to his fellow mad man. "Your family has always assisted us throughout the times. So, we came to a decision to have you join us as a full-time member of Millennium. Along with it, is immortality."

Merlot's eyes widened significantly. It's true, his family had been helping them for so long and he had only continued because of the endless opportunities regarding science. He admired their technology, as well their experiments. Plus, immortality was on the table as well.

"But why?" he asked. "Surely you don't need a scientist of my caliber."

"Ah but we do. We plan to wage war upon the entirety of Remnant, and unfortunately, we lack the firepower to do so. Sure we have over thousands of ghouls, Grimms, armaments and bombs, but there's just something about those droids of yours that interest us. I admit, I excel at the biological parts of science, yet I am very weak when it comes to things such as machinery and cybernetics. You, however, are a genius at that portion."

Doktor extended his hand up to the man, giving him a smile filled with sadism.

"Join us, Herr Merlot. We will become unstoppable!"

Merlot did not even need to think. He had accepted the hand and firmly grasped it as they shook, his lips encompassed with a similar smile.

"Consider this is as my formal registration form. Come, Herr Doktor. Let's trade notes. But first, witness the evolution of cyber-technology!"

Merlot walked up to his computer and began to input his command to install the A.I. inside of his cyborg. Doktor watched in fascination as the lights on the cyborg began to glow a shade of blood red. The cyborg booted up but did not move upon activation.

Doktor's mouths curved into an 'o', quite liking what he was seeing. "Is this a new robot of yours?"

"No. It was a Faunus my drone picked up on the outskirts of Beacon. I fully cyberized him, eliminating his memories and his soul. But he fully maintains his skill and experience."

"I see. How long did it take for you to fully convert him?" asked the blond.

Merlot scratched his beard in thought, before the answer came to him. "Two months. And that's when I worked by myself and the specimen lacked a limb, and was lacking some blood. Why do you ask?"

Doktor grinned as he adjusted his glasses. "There happens to be two rogues within our clutches. They refuse to cooperate with our cause. Perhaps they will become obedient if…"

Although the question was left hanging, Merlot could already figure out its implication. The man grinned back and looked quite excited at the prospect of cyberizing two more people.

"I only have one question. When do we start?"


	25. Timeskip Part 2

**Woot! I'm finally done with school! Hello summer break! Hopefully this means I can pump out chapters at a much more rapid pace. Okay, looks like the time skip will just be a two-parter instead of three, which is good.**

 **Please kindly point out some errors and give some criticism regarding this story. It would be very much appreciated so I can improve it if possible.**

 **Now, on with the chapter!**

* * *

The golden rays of the glorious sunshine shone down on the island of Patch. The citizens of the humble land began to arose from their slumber to start their daily routine. One of them was Ruby Rose.

The young Rosette sat up from her bed and let out a short yawn as she stretched her limbs. She smacked her lips together, trying to force off the drowsiness that tried to stay. She got out of her bed and went a dash for the bathroom to splash her face with water.

Ruby clenched open the sink and gathered her hands over the spraying water. But as soon as she did, she started quivering. Her eyes widened as blood suddenly appeared on her hands. Ruby whimpered as she desperately tried to wash it off. Tears began well up in her eyes as the blood wasn't coming off, making her terrified.

 _"Nonononononononononononono! Why won't it go?!"_ she thought, clearly panic-stricken.

She gripped her head and shook it in denial, desperately wanting things to end.

 _"I'm not a murderer! They were the enemy, t-they had to be dealt with. B-Besides, they weren't even human or Faunus anymore! S-So, why am I like this?! Why is there blood on my conscience?"_

 _ **"Because you like it~"**_

Ruby yelped and looked around. Nothing. There was no one there besides herself. So then why-

 _ **"Teeheheheheheheh~ I'm a voice inside your head, you dummy!"**_

"What?" she uttered in disbelief. Was she finally going crazy? Did she snap during these two months?

 _ **"Yup! I've been in your cranium for at least half a decade. And no. You aren't crazy. Or at least, not crazy in the membrane and insane type of thing, no. But what you are crazy about, is killing."**_

"W-What do you mean? How am I crazy about killing?" asked Ruby out loud. She needed to know what was happening to her. For weeks, she's been getting dreams about being drenched in blood, holding various organs and limbs, all with a smile on her face.

 _ **"Let me put it into words that you would make you easily understand: You enjoy all the killing you did. You want to do it over and over again, until you're knee-deep in bodies!"**_

Ruby was absolutely appalled, disgusted and terrified at what the voice told her. "What?! N-No! That can't be true." she denied. It just couldn't be, could it?

 _ **"Don't try denying it! I saw your face when you went on and killed all those ghouls. You happily ended their lives, and you would've gladly done it endlessly! I should know, I was created from these thoughts."**_

"No! Y-You have to be lying! A-And besides, those people deserve it. They were the bad guys!"

 _ **"Oh how obscure your sense of morality is. It's all black and white! Newsflash, little Rose! Not every ghouls was a bad guy! What if they were forced into it? What if they were brainwashed to serve the enemy, huh?"**_

This earned her no response as it left Ruby speechless.

 _ **"Nothing to say? By the way, you forgot something. Those were just soldiers, following what their superior commander ordered them to do. Admit it, Ruby! You're just trying to justify yourself, when you know it deep in your heart that you enjoy all the killing!"**_

Even still, Ruby denied all of these accusations. She took a step back as she wrapped her arms around her body, trying to calm herself.

"No! No, I don't believe you!"

 _ **"Then you wouldn't mind taking a look at the mirror, right?"**_

Ruby did that just that. She looked at herself in mirror and was even more horrified at what she saw. Her reflection was in her old outfit, but had red slash marks all across the body. The eyes were completely black, except for the red slits. It was grinning at her, the teeth completely jagged and spiked. What's worse, it was holding a severed head, still dripping with blood.

 _ **"Ah~ What's wrong, Ruby? Afraid of your own reflection?"**_ it taunted. The reflection threw away the head and slowly poked out of the mirror. _**"This is what you really are! What you really believe in! Accept it, Ruby! This is your new normal, your new nature."**_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Ruby punched her reflection, causing it to flinch. The Rosette cried as she started to repeatedly punch herself in an attempt to push back into the mirror.

"Never! I won't ever be like you! I'm not a killer. I'm not!" she desperately tried to assert to herself, tears dripping down her cheeks.

The reflection did nothing to stop Ruby and was very content to just chuckling.

 **CRASH!**

The doors to the bathroom flung open and a pair of arms suddenly wrapped itself around her and pulled her away from the mirror. The young girl flailed her legs, trying to free herself from captivity.

"No! Please! Stop it!" begged Ruby, her voice slowly becoming hoarse as she hyperventilated.

"Ruby! It's okay, calm down. Calm down. I'm not gonna hurt you. Just…calm down. Everything's gonna be okay. You'll be alright. Take deep breaths and you'll pull through. "

Ruby's breathing started to slow down, eventually, she calmed down. She looked behind her and saw it was Yang who was holding her down.

Yang had changed quite a bit. She wasn't as playful and adventurous as she once was, but she still acted like the same big sister Ruby once knew. Ruby noticed that her was still in her pajamas, and she couldn't help but stare into her red eye.

Yang had gotten a new eye, courtesy from an anonymous sender. It was a mechanical eye that had its wiring attached to her optical nerves, making it possible for it function like a normal eye. And along with that was also a new prosthetic, combat hand. Or, more like a new arm. Whoever had sent the eye had also sent an arm. But Yang only wanted the hand, seeing as she still had a functioning arm. But after a long, and detailed conversation with both Ruby and their dad, she decided to implant the arm into her bones, and then surgically integrate the hand over the stump.

Problem solved!

Yang looked at her little sister in worry. She looked up to the bathroom mirror. It was all shattered up, some of the fragments having fallen to the ground, a few blood splotches scattered around the remaining glass. Yang looked down on Ruby, seeing her hand bleed. The blonde softly sighed and gently helped her sister up.

"Come on, sis. Let's get that hand patched up."

* * *

 **Ship En Route to Menagerie**

Blake stared at the vast sea, leaning against the ship's railing as she had reminiscence from the past months. She had bunked in with Sun and his team after they were transported into the safer areas of Vale. For the two months that have passed, she stayed with her boyfriend during his time of need.

How could she not? He had lost the thing he cherished, the thing that helped him proudly identify himself as a Faunus. And besides that, she felt it was her fault that he even lost it in the first place. It was her fault that Adam had targeted him. It was her fault he got her, because she was too weak. It was her fault that he-

"Blake?"

The feline Faunus looked behind her to see Sun facing her with a concerned expression.

"Something wrong? You look like you got more than you should on your plate."

She shook her head and gave him an assuring smile. "It's nothing. Just trying to figure out how to properly talk to Sienna Khan once we get to Menagerie."

The blond scratched the back of his head , nodding at her response. "I figure you'd be thinking about that. We're gonna be dealing with the head honcho of the entire WF." he said, censoring the White Fang into acronyms, not wanting to say it out loud in public and cause an accidental panic.

Blake had decided to confront Sienna Khan regarding her decision to send Adam, who was in an alliance with the Grimm, and Nazis, to attack Vale and assist the enemy of all. Blake knew Sienna, and she knew that she only did things that would benefit the Faunus as a whole. What happened in Vale was the opposite and she intended to get her answers.

Blake closed her eyes and smiled, feeling the cool air brush against her cat ears. She had decided that the time to hide was enough. She couldn't afford to keep running, and decided to face her challenges head on. So, she decided to no longer hide her ears. And along with that change, she had discarded her old clothing and went for a new style.

She opted for a long, white tailcoat with dark gray linings and a sleeveless black crop top underneath. A pair of fitted pants with a white belts, thing-high black heeled-boots with a bit of gold-colored edging around it, with her family's emblem on it. On her back was a diagonal strap that had a small, magnetic clip and she was using it to sheath Gambol Shroud.

The feline Faunus looked at her boyfriend, admiring his new look. He had switched out his jacket for a white, sleeveless, long tailcoat, unbuttoned of course, still largely preferring to show off his abs. He kept his wrist bracers, although upgraded it into arm ones. He forgone his cargo pants and sneakers and went with black, fitted yet flexible pants, and simple combat boots. On his neck was his necklace, his emblem proudly emblazoned on it.

"You know, I think Yang would be purring all over your body if she were here."

Sun raised an eyebrow and looked at the girl incredulously. "This, coming from the cat Faunus, huh? Don't deny that you haven't lied down on these fine pecs for more than a day when I was asleep."

Blake blushed and tried to sputter out a response. "Wh-! Th-! I just wanted to see if it was hard, or something!"

"The pictures that Neptune and Scarlet took says otherwise. You were curled up on my stomach. And you were purring!"

Blake hung her head, quite obvious that she couldn't win on the argument. Although, it did feel nice to act so… carefree. And she dearly wished that she could feel it more. But with the world's current status, that would be impossible.

She turned around and leaned back on the railings on the deck, peacefully watching the waves crash against the ship.

 _"Mom. Dad. I wonder how you guys are doing?"_

* * *

"DOOOOOOOOODGE!"

Oscar immediately dived onto the ground, narrowly dodging a green sphere. The projectile made contact with a tree and it blew up in a small explosion. The young boy quickly pushed himself up and dashed back to dodge another green sphere. However, it struck the ground, and the resulting explosion threw him off his balance, causing him to fall.

Oscar grunted and desperately tried to get up, but to no avail, he was hit by the green sphere, sending him flying into a tree. The young lad groaned softly as his body slid down to the ground. He craned his head to his left, seeing the Branwen siblings, giving them a pleading look.

"Why do we keep doing this?"

Qrow looked away, while Raven shrugged indifferently and pointed at the man who had attacked her young charge. Not much had changed between the two of them. No new hair styles, no new wardrobe, no new nothing. Same could be said for Oscar. Ozpin, however.

The former headmaster had changed into clothing reminiscent of his time as Ozma, although shaded to fit with his current color scheme, which was black and emerald green. Ozpin slammed down his cane and looked at his supposed descendant with a passive look.

"You accepted this training, young Oscar. I told you repeatedly that it would be difficult, and yet you still went through with it because you wanted to get stronger."

"No, I know that. But why do we just keep doing this? You attack me, and then I dodge or it hits me. I don't think I cant get stronger from this."

Ozpin smirked and pushed up his spectacles. "There's a simple explanation for that, young Oscar. Constantly dodging heightens your alertness and makes you push your body against it limits. What's more, the mortal body goes into a sense of adrenaline when it feels it is in danger. This feeling allows you to temporarily surpass your limits in order to avoid the danger. Take a look at your biceps."

Oscar pinched his arm a bit and was quite shocked to feel it was no longer as flabby as it used to be before Raven found him. In fact, he could feel some firm muscles starting to grow. Ozpin grunted and pointed his cane at the young farm boy.

"You're next line will be - 'Woah! You're right, Mr. Ozpin. I guess I am getting stronger!' Now."

Oscar dusted himself off and stood, looking quite happy."Woah! You're right, Mr. Ozpin. I guess I am getting stronger!" The young boy realized what he said and looked at the bespectacled man with puzzlement and awe. "Eh? How did you know?"

The Reincarnation Warrior shrugged and brought down his cane. "It matters not. Now, are you ready to resume your training?"

"Mhm!" Oscar replied with vigor. "I can see now why you chose this training method, Mr. Ozpin. Let's go a couple more rounds!"

"Hmph. If that's the case," Ozpin pushed back up his glasses to the bridge of his nose as a tinge of green began to surround and outline him. He dashed forward, looking more like a blur as he approached his student. He appeared behind him, his cane raised to strike him. "DOOOOOOOOODGE!"

Oscar yelped. He spun around and managed to block the cane mid-blow. This action earned him a quirked brow and an amused smirk from his teacher. Ozpin pulled back, before spinning around and jabbing Oscar by the chest, pushing him back.

Ozpin cocked back his unoccupied arm. He drew from his reserves and another green sphere the size of a ball formed in his palm. He grunted and threw it at Oscar, not screaming anything.

The young boy's eyes widened and rolled out of the way. He'd be even more surprised as Ozpin began to repeatedly barrage him with volleys of Aura Spheres. Oscar started dodging like there was no tomorrow as he did every possible action he could to avoid the attacks. Rolling, jumping, dashing, diving, hell, he even did a few front and back flips.

Unfortunately for him, he got struck by in the shoulder, and it all went downhill from there, his body getting struck multiple times. The force of the attack sending him crashing into a tree. Again.

From the sidelines, Qrow winced and hissed as he saw Oscar's body slide down. "Damn. Reminds me of our days in Beacon, huh Rae?"

The female Branwen flinched in remembrance and nodded. "I'm pretty sure that we've had it worse. After all, we had to endure Port, Oobleck, and most terrifying of all, Goodwitch."

Qrow grunted in agreement, shivering a bit as he called back to his days as a student. "True. We had to endure wrestling with Beowolves, dodging flaming potshots from a caffeinated madman, and the fucking owls!"

"Don't even remind of that!" cried out Raven, dread creeping up her face. "I already completely blocked that horrid experience and you just had to bring it back up!"

The drunk shrugged and took a large swig from his flask. "Hey. If I'm suffering from that, I might as well drag you down with me."

The siblings saw Ozpin approach them, having told Oscar to go rest for a few minutes before training resumes. The former headmaster sat down in front of the bonfire, looking at the roaring fire as he spoke.

"What is the status back at Vale?"

Qrow placed away his flask and faced his boss. " From what I've heard, they already got started in reconstruction. It shouldn't be too long until Vale's back up to its feet and is livable for everyone."

Ozpin nodded, yet did not look at his agent. "I see. Have you sent a message to James?"

"I can't get a hold of him for some reason. Best I could do was contact Father Anderson. He told me that they're handling things fine, and that there was a near-by abandoned lab from our location that used to belong to Millennium. He suggested we go scope it out, see if we can find anything worthwhile to use against them."

The bespectacled man said nothing and merely hummed in thought. He took a sip of water from his canteen and closed his eyes to concentrate. Raven stood up and asked the man a question.

"What's our next course of action, Oz?"

He opened his eyes and gave his answer. "I suppose we can take some time off our hands to inspect that facility you've mentioned, Qrow. A quick detour before going back to Beacon isn't a bad thought. It's decided. The day after, we will look into that laboratory and then head for Beacon."

* * *

 **Merlot's Island Laboratory**

The two figures lay on the ground, completely dressed in stereotypical prison clothing. One male with silver hair. And one female with mint-green hair. Their wrists were bound behind their backs, their legs shackled to the floor.

They looked quite thin, but not to the point their bones would start showing. Another thing was that they were gagged and blindfolded.

Merlot walked up to the jail cell and unlocked the doors, flanked by two of his drones, with Doktor trailing behind. He stared down at the capture fugitives with a smirk and motioned for his drones to unshackle them.

"Bring them to the rehabilitation chamber." he ordered to his drones. They did as they were told and roughly picked up the two fugitives and went to move them to said room. He then looked at the Doktor. "We'll first work on wiping out their memories, barring their experience and skills in combat."

"Ho~ And how will we do that?"

"Hypnosis. Along with that, I can suppress their minds if needed. Once that is done, we start with the conversion. Replace their organs if needed, start mechanizing their systems, replace their skins and skeletons with metal plating, then install the A.I. and obedience chips within them."

Doktor nodded in understanding. He and his comrade walked into the rehabilitation chamber, just in time to see the drones chain up Emerald and Mercury into the chairs, wherein a large, swirl pattern connected to a drill hovered above them.

Merlot grunted and snapped his fingers. A drone flew over to the unconscious fugitives, carrying a large bucket filled with water. The robot splashed the contents onto the two, making them gasp and thrash around, trying to breathe in their needed oxygen.

Restrains popped out from behind their necks and clasped tightly onto their throat, further preventing them from any sort of movements. They wanted to scream, but they couldn't. They were still gagged. The drones roughly grabbed their blindfolds and tore it off.

Merlot walked up to the computer and typed in a few command inputs, which activated the drills. The chairs Emerald and Mercury sat on leaned back, forcing them to look straight at the pattern. Once they saw it, the immediately attempted to close their eyes.

Most unfortunate for them, they could not. There were ghouls that stood at their side, applying pressure on to their pressure points, forcing them to keep their eyes open. The urge to scream and thrash around grew further by the second as the pattern drill began to get closer to them.

Doktor handed a voice enhancer to his fellow man of science as a couple of ghouls attached earpieces to Emerald and Mercury's ears. Meaning, they will hear nothing but Merlot and his voice. The rest then placed in ear plugs. The mad scientist grinned and began the process of hypnosis.

 **"Focus to nothing but my voice. Heed its every order, and every thing I say. Now, forget your past. Forget all of the good things that has happened to you. The memories you enjoy and cherish, erase them. Bury them deep. Revert your mind to that of an infant."**

Slowly, Mercury and Emerald began to settle down, their eyes beginning to lull and lose focus. This made Merlot all the ecstatic. Progress was being made!

 **"But now, remember every abuse you've suffered, every pain that was inflicted onto you. Let it resurface and envelop your senses. The sorrow that you felt, the fear that coursed through you, the fury that made your blood boil. Cast aside all of the positive things in your body, and instead let the negativity."**

Their eyes began to narrow down into a glare as their bodies struggled to thrash around, wanting to release the anger that was pent up inside them.

 **"Now, channel that anger into obedience. Channel that fear into loyalty. And channel that sorrow to fanatical devotion. All of them, direct it towards to me, Millennium, and most important of all, Salem, our dear mistress."**

They began to calm down yet again, this time whatever smile they could muster whilst being gagged appeared on their faces. It was a similar smile to that of Tyrian's. Merlot and Doktor looked at each other, grinning. The process was a success.

 **"Now, when I reach to the count of three, you will fall into a deep sleep until the two of you are properly converted into the perfect soldiers."** The mad man raised up his hand and began the counting. **"One. Two. Three."**

Once three fingers were raised, the ghouls released their holds on the two, their eyes closing and their entire body rigid and unmoving. Merlot removed the voice enhancer, very much satisfied with the result.

 **"It is done. Now all that is left is the conversion."**

Doktor nodded, already putting on a pair of surgical gloves. "Indeed. If we work on this for about a week with only 10 minute breaks at each day, we will be quickly done." The Millennium Scientist pointed at a couple of drones and snapped his fingers. "Order us five meat lovers pizza, three pan cheese pizzas, a vegetarian pizza, and about a two dozens of coffee. Raus, raus!"

The drones nodded and moved to get the order done. Doktor looked at Merlot, who had changed into a proper outfit for doing surgery. The two mad men nodded at each other and walked to the operating tables, wherein the two unconscious teens were placed by some of the ghouls, having been also stripped of whatever they had on.

It was now time for surgery. Merlot picked up a scalpel and went to hover it over Mercury moving to make a vertical slit through his chest.

"Let us start by removing his organs."

* * *

"This is Morpho. Arriving shortly at the outskirts of Kuroyuri. You all best prepare yourselves for landing."

The five students, along with with Damien, arrived at their destination and slowly filed out of the helicopter. All six of them looked around and couldn't but let the sadness oozing out from the completely broken settlement affect them.

What was once a proud village filled with beauty and life, was left to be nothing but a dry husk of its former self. Wrecked buildings, broken roads, dead trees, and most unfortunate of all, a few skeletons along with swords and arrows impaled onto the pavement were little around. All there to display their failure to protect their home.

Ren clenched his fists in anger, remembering the beast that killed everyone and took away his home.

The usually zen male felt a hand on shoulder. He already had a sneaking suspicion whose it was. Ren placed his hand over Nora's, feeling a bit better at her attempt to comfort him. Sighing deeply, he looked towards the largest withered tree with a somber look.

 _"Time to face the music."_

Ren started to walk, prompting his friends to follow him. They walked at a snail's pace, taking their time to arrive at the heart of the town. Jaune brought up his CODEC and initiated a call with Pyrrha and Damien.

 **{** **The two of you feel it too, don't you?** **}**

 **{** **If by 'it', you mean this large presence of darkness that's prowling around this dead village, then yes.** **}** replied Damien. **{** **But if you are referring to the storm that is bottled up inside Ren, then I sense that as well** **.}**

 **{** **It must be difficult for him.** **}** voiced out Pyrrha, looking at her teammate with concern. **{** **For years, he and Nora had not visited their home and have possibly never gotten the time to properly grieve and say goodbye to their parents.** **}**

 **{** **Yes, you and I know it all too well, sister. But that's why friends exist, for them to help one other if ever needed. We are a shoulder to lean on, and a pillar of support to help him stand tall.** **}**

 **{** **Well said.** **Let's just keep an eye out for whatever this dark presence is.** **}**

The two redheads hummed in confirmation, and they cut the transmission. Ren stopped, taking notice of a small, tattered flag being blown around by the air. He reached up to the thing and managed to grab it. Looking at it, he saw it was the flag of the neighboring village, Shion.

 _"So, they didn't survive as well."_ he grimly thought.

As they were about to resume, Weiss took notice of something…black plastered on the floor. "What's that?" Whatever it was, it caught her interest.

The white-haired girl approached it with caution, Damien just behind. The two raised their eyebrows at what they saw.

"Hoof prints? Why would there be hoof prints here of all places?"

Damien knelt down and examined the print. He grazed his hand over the markings, his eyes closed in concentration. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.

"Blood. And it's just a few days old. Whatever made it is still here."

Ren's blood ran cold at what he heard. Both fury and fear began to dominate his mind. Nora noticed her boyfriend trembling and immediately went to his side. She grabbed his hand and pulled him in for a hug, trying to comfort him.

"Renny! What's wrong?"

Though faint, she could hear what he silently whisper.

"It's still here."

Nora was completely confused by what Ren said. Before she could ask for an explanation, a terrifying roar breached everyone's hearing, causing them to cover their ears in reflex.

The ground began to tremble, accompanied by a loud thumping of foot steps. Once again, Jaune brought up his CODEC and contacted the Nikos siblings.

 **{** **The dark presence, it's approaching!** **}**

 **{** **Could it possibly be a Grimm?** **}** asked Damien. **{** **What other reason would this presence have to come at us instead of some other direction. With the amount of negativity Ren is radiating, it would surely be attracted!** **}**

 **{** **It matters not anymore. We need to tell the others.** **}**

Jaune drew his weapons, immediately slipping into a stance. "Everyone, draw out your weapons and be on guard!"

They nodded and did as they were ordered. Except for Ren, who was still absorbed in reliving the nightmares that plagued him for years.

 _"I can't believe it! After all these years, that damned thing is still alive?!"_ He tightly clenched his hand before flicking it to the side, his face contorting into tranquil fury. _"Whatever. I'll kill it before it comes to us."_

The footsteps got louder and louder, the trembling getting stronger by the minute, until finally, it appeared.

It was a horse-like create with an equine main body and a skinless human-like shape fused with it. The forelegs were shaped likes claws, while the hind legs were standard hooves. The human-like creature had curved horns on its head, a mouth seemingly sewn shut, and two long elastic arms with two clawed fingers each. On the torso of the creature were boney spikes along the spines, accompanied by a variety of weapons embedded in it.

The thing roared yet again, forcing them to cover their ears to spare them of the terrible sounding screech. Weiss broke the silence among them to state the obvious question running through almost everyone's minds,

"What is that thing?"

Ren started walking up to it, his glare growing heated towards the towering figure. "That thing is a monster called the Nuckelavee. And the one that destroyed this village and killed my parents!"

As he finished his sentence, Ren started running up to the beast, hellbent on exacting revenge, his face now contorted into unbridled rage. The Nuckleave let out a lesser roar and its limbs elongated, rushing to hit Ren.

Ren's rage prevented him from seeing it, and therefore, wasn't able to dodge it. Damien reached out to Lie and activated his Semblance: Rapidity, a super speed Semblance similar to Ruby. The incubus ran off, becoming a blur as he ground to halt, grabbed Ren and took the hit for him, sending them crashing into a broken house.

The Nuckelavee turned its attention to the other four, making them take an involuntary step back. Jaune had a worried look as he tightly gripped his weapon.

"This isn't good."

Nora rolled her eyes, "Gee, ya think?" But she knew that she agreed with what her fearless leader said.

Now, what to do against an enemy they've never fought before?


	26. Closure

**And here comes the Nuckelavee fight! I both hated, and liked writing this. Since I didn't want to use Volume 4's fight as a basis, I spent about a week trying to visualize how it should look, and this was the result.**

 **Honestly, I don't know. You tell me in the reviews. Don't be afraid. Isn't what they're for. Also, I'd like to make a confession, I never expected to use any other elements from any other 'universes'. I honestly forgot my reason to do it. Maybe because it sounded like an awesome idea in my head, or perhaps to fill a gap, since I don't think I'll be using much elements from beyond Volume 4.**

 **Also, anyone have some recommendations for good OST that would give inspiration, or would just fit some certain battles overall? But enough of this ranting, you're here to read, so go on and do it.**

 **Play - Metal Gear Solid OST - Peace Walker Theme**

* * *

The Nuckelavee let out another roar, its attention fully focused at the four children within its sights. Nora quickly shifted her weapons into its respective grenade launcher form. She roared and let loose against the centaur-like Grimm.

The Nuckelavee stood its ground as the explosives sprayed against its skin. Much to their shock, it seemingly had no effect against it.

"What?!" Jaune shouted in complete surprise. "There's no way it could have withstood rapid barrages of grenades like it was nothing."

"That Grimm must be pretty old to be that durable." commented Pyrrha.

The beast shot its arms at the group, aiming for Nora and Jaune. Weiss quickly went in range and cast a protective Glyph to block the attack. To her immense horror, the arms passed through the Glpyh and struck her on the stomach, sending her straight to a wrecked house.

Pyrrha took the initiative while it was distracted and ran around it. She summoned Milo to her hand and threw it at the Nuckelavee. The beast was struck by its head, making the shield bounce back to its owner. Instead of grabbing it, Pyrrha spun into the air and kicked it back at the Nuckelavee, causing it stumble.

Jaune moved in, Nigrum Mors drawn and ready to cut. He pounced the centaur-like Grimm, slashing at its head. It shrieked in pain, making him smile in satisfaction. The blond was forced to jump back as the Nuckelavee retaliated. He blocked the attack, causing the arms to bounce back, giving him the chance to aim at the arms.

But before he could do shoot, the arms recomposed itself and smacked him on the face, sending him crashing onto the ground.

"Jaune!" cried out a concerned Pyrrha. Her attention, however, would then switch to her safety as the Nuckelavee took hold of her by the leg. The redhead didn't have time to react. She grunted as she was lifted off her feet and slammed around the pavement before being tossed aside.

A running blur charged towards the Nuckelavee, only to blindsided by it, causing the blur, who was Damien, to skid face first on the ground, his hook swords sliding across away from him.

Nora gripped her weapon tightly, all alone. She glared heatedly at the towering beast, her memories of Kuroyuri's destruction returning to her. The hammer maiden charged at the Grimm, her weapon pulled back.

The Nuckelavee let out another roar, making Nora flinch at the disorienting sound. But she trudged through and jumped into the air with the help from her grenade's recoil. She spun around a couple of times and brought down her heavy weapon on to the Grimm's head. It, however, did nothing.

The Nuckelavee brushed off the attack like it was nothing and shook off the ginger on it. It let out a growl and rammed Nora with it's horse-half's head, sending her careening into the ruins of a church. It let out a triumphant shriek, before moving on to his next target.

It picked Jaune, because he was closer and defenseless. The centaur-like beast slowly ambled towards the blond, who remained unmoving. The Nuckelavee stretched out its limb and went to grab Jaune by the collar. However, it didn't account for the teen to be wearing blessed armor, causing it reel back and shriek in pain.

Jaune snapped open his eyes and smirked in victory. He tackled the Grimm and clutched onto it tightly, letting the holiness rub off on it, causing the thing even more pain, but importantly, distracting it.

"Move in, now!"

Damien, Weiss and Pyrrha charged off in a blur with their Semblance, or their inherited vampire power in Pyrrha's case. Damien struck the Nuckelavee's legs, before rushing off to look for another target. Weiss followed her lover's example and rapidly jabbed the beast's legs, reopening the wounds. Pyrrha joined Jaune and jumped on the Nuckelavee's body. She grinned ferociously and extended her fingernails and started clawing at its back.

The Nuckelavee hissed against the pain and made its move. It grabbed the vampire lovers by the back of their necks and slammed them into each other, before bringing them down to the ground. It rotated its humanoid torso and stretched out its limb, dragging the two of them around. Weiss and Damien were swept off their feet and fell face down. After a few more spins, it tflung the couple far away, unknown to where.

Weiss pushed herself into a kneeling position and saw the Nuckelavee approaching them. She took hold of Myrtenaster and was about to stab it into the ground, before she noticed something about her chambers that made a look of horror dawn her face.

"N-No Dust?!"

The white-haired lady looked up and saw the Nuckelavee above her. She closed her eyes to brace for the hit, but Damien swooped in on time. He drew out his hook swords and struck one of its legs. The force behind the attack was only strong enough to create a slash mark, but it was enough to distract the Nuckelavee with pain. He grabbed Weiss into a modified fireman's carry and rushed off until they were at a sizable distance from the Grimm.

He gently placed down his girlfriend and brought up his CODEC to check up on his friends.

 **{** **Guys, where are you?!** **}**

 **{** **I'm hiding in one of the houses, I'm with Renny.** **}** responded Nora.

No response came from Jaune or Pyrrha however, making Damien curse in realization.

 **{** **Damn it. They must have been knocked out. We're on our own for now. We need to think of a strategy how to hurt this thing.** **}**

 **{** **Projectiles aren't working, if my grenades were any sign. We'll have to hit it with brute force!** **}**

 **{** **No, I don't think that's the solution either.** **}** spoke Weiss. **{** **You tried it, didn't you? But that didn't work. Like any other Grimm, it's weak against things enchanted with holiness. I'm pretty sure Myrtenaster's is still in effect.** **}**

 **{** **Ah phooey. Does that mean my hammer is not holy anymore?** **}**

 **{** **Looks like it.** **}** Damien responded. He then focused his attention to Ren. **{** **Have you calmed down, Ren? Has your anger lessened?** **}**

 **{** **Of course not.** **}** he bluntly replied, traces of fury still in his voice. **{** **That monster killed hundreds of innocent people, including my parents. I won't rest until I see that Nuckelavee lying dead beneath our feet.** **}**

 **{** **Then keep that anger of yours in check, Ren. Or else it might come biting us in the rear.** **}** advised Damien. **{** **That Nuckelavee, despite just staying still, has a great sense of range. We need to distract it so Weiss can move in and attack. And unfortunately, I don't think any type of long range from us would work.** **}**

The group stayed silent, trying to think of a tactic to use, until Ren spoke up.

 **{** **I may have an idea.** **}**

* * *

The Nuckelavee trudged through the ruined village. The village that it had destroyed many years ago by itself. It had lived for many decades, and had gained a bit of intelligence and wisdom. And the first thing it thought was to find a home. A place it could rest and lick its wounds, and also provide a safe haven for its brethren.

The centaur-like beast turned to its left, noticing something run into a near-by pillar. Was it one of the humans was the thing thought. The Nuckelavee stretched out its limbs and directed it towards the stone pillar. It tore the thing in half and saw nothing behind it. It let out a low growl before tossing away the remains.

Unbeknownst to it, there was something hiding behind the pillar, it was just hidden from its sight. Weiss stood in a running stance, with Ren behind her, kneeling down with his hand touching the ground. Lie was using his Semblance; Concealment, the ability to conceal himself and others from the senses of Grimm.

Ren glared at the Nuckelavee and nodded at Weiss. "Go." he signaled.

 **Play - Metal Gear Solid OST - Tanker Incident**

Weiss brandished her rapier and charged with a quiet war cry. She dashed through the Nuckelavee's legs and rapidly and repeatedly slashed at the limbs. The thing buckled from the pain and fell down, due to the blessed and precise weapon. Weiss spun around and lunged at the Grimm, prepared to stab it in the head. However, the Nuckelavee managed to recover quite quickly and rammed back the white-haired huntress with its horse head.

"Weiss!" cried out Damien. He sprouted out his wings and jumped up to catch his lover. The succubus looked down and saw Ren approaching the Nuckelavee. He tried to reach to Lie and stop him. "Ren, don't be stupid, it's not worth it!"

Unfortunately, his words did not reach him. Ren's mind was far too clouded by the thoughts of vengeance. He eventually ran up to the large beast, his eyes going wild. He circled around the Nuckelavee and peppered it with shots from StormFlower.

The Nuckelavee growled in annoyance and grabbed Ren by the arms. As it was distracted, Damien quickly took the opportunity and rushed in, striking at the legs yet again. It shrieked in pain as the incubus repeatedly attacked it. The centaur-like Grimm withdrew one of its limbs and used it to pin down Damien. It flung away Ren into a near-by street and focused its attention at Damien.

Damien struggled under the Grimm's clutches. He repeatedly jabbed at it with his hook swords, but all it did was further annoy it. The Nuckelavee gripped the incubus' weapons and separated it from its owner. Damien gritted his teeth as the beast hefted him up. It roared directly at his face, making his ears ring. The redhead screamed at the pain, feeling his ears bleed.

The Nuckelavee prepared to enact his next attack, only to find ice creeping up from its legs and up to its torso. In an act of panic, it threw away Damien and tried to prevent its body from being encased by ice.

Damien pushed himself up from the ground and saw Weiss wielding a duelling pistol, its barrel smoking. He connected the dots and chuckled..

"Didn't know you were in possession of a secondary."

Weiss spun around her pistol before blowing at the barrel. She parted her long skirt and holstered it back before running up to help Damien stand up.

"Honestly, I forgot about it until just now."

The couple looked at the Nuckelavee, its body completely frozen. They stared at it for a couple of seconds before chuckling at its fate.

"Think we should get Nora to smash it to pieces?"

Weiss tapped her chin before shaking her head, a smile on her face. "I don't know. It WOULD make a good sculpture for a garden."

Damien shook his head and went to bring up his CODEC to contact his friend. "Come on, let's call our friends and end this togeth-"

Their attention was grabbed by the sound of something cracking. Their eyes briefly met, filled with a hint of fear. They slowly turned to face the frozen Nuckelavee and saw it was vibrating, cracks starting to spread throughout the entire thing. In a matter of seconds, it was free of its icy prison.

"Shit!" cursed out the incubus. "Weiss, can you freeze it again?"

A nod from his lover was the only thing he needed. He grabbed a few boulders and threw it at the Grimm as a distraction while Weiss pulled out her gun to reload it. Damien zoomed off, running around to keep its focus on him.

Weiss poised herself, clutching the pistol with two hands. She carefully aimed at the large Grimm, as she slowly steadied her breath, her hands slowly stopping from shaking. She hovered her finger over the trigger, her eyes narrowing as she locked-on target.

Damien went to move out of the range, only to fall down as the Nuckelavee slammed its limbs onto the pavement, causing a brief tremor. The sudden quake caused Weiss to stumble forward and pull the trigger by accident. The Ice Dust bullet shot beneath the pavement, forming an icy puddle. The Nuckelavee growled in surprise as it started to slip, unable to keep itself steady.

Weiss hurriedly fished her hand through the holster on her leg to pluck out another Ice Dust bullet. As she was about to open up the chamber, the ice had melted away, the Nuckelavee having recomposed itself. It quickly shot out its limbs and jabbed Weiss directly at the stomach, sending her crashing through a building yet again.

"I'm not done with you yet!" declared Damien, only to meet the same fate as Weiss.

The Nuckelavee prepared to move on, until Nora jumped out from behind and whacked it over the head with Magnhild. This time, it stumbled. She cocked back her hammer and slammed it on the thing's back, sending it flying and straight through a couple of blocks.

But how was Nora able to now push around the Nuckelavee when just earlier she was unable to? The answer; her Semblance plus the lightning function in her precious weapon.

 _"I really need to thank Walter for adding this."_

Nora launched herself into the air with an explosive and dived down towards the Nuckelavee. The Nuckelavee shook off the attack and stood up. It looked up, watching as Nora approached him. It let out another roar and stretched out its limb, managing to grasp Nora by the neck. It slammed her into a building, cracking the wall. Nora grunted and tried to pry off the hand, to no avail.

"Let go of her!"

The Nuckelavee seemed to click its tongue in annoyance as it was showered by bullets yet again, courtesy of Ren. Now it was really getting annoyed. The Nuckelavee stretched out its other limb, attempting to grab hold of Lie.

Ren maneuvered around the limb, nimbly dodging it. He pounced the Grimm and went to perform an overhead stab, only for his wrist to get caught by the limb. He growled and tried to wretch away, but the grip around it was held tight.

* * *

Jaune softly groaned, coming back to the realm of consciousness. He pushed off the debris that threatened to bury him and slowly stood up. He looked to left, seeing Pyrrha pull herself out of a spike that impaled her.

The two of them met up with one another. As Pyrrha was about to ask what was the current status, the two of them saw Nora being crushed by the Nuckelavee while Ren was fruitlessly shooting still at it, with Weiss and Damien absent.

Jaune looked around, their weapons not in sight, making his click his tongue in annoyance. "Tsk. We need back up." As he was about to turn on his CODEC, he was certainly surprised to hear its ringtone, signaling an incoming call. And it was from Morpho.

 **{** **Jaune! What's happening out there? You haven't been answering your CODEC for the past hour, and I was getting a bit worried.** **}**

 **{** **Just in time, Morpho. We need help, right now! We've been attacked by a Grimm. It looks a centaur, or something. Ren called it the Nuckelavee.** **}**

 **{** **Nuckelavee? I thought those things were extinct. Those mean sons of bitches are tough as hell from what I've heard. Alright, I'm coming. But I can only provide air support. I'm no good on land.** **}**

 **{** **Any type of support is much appreciated. Come over here ASAP.** **}**

 **{** **Roger! I'm heading over there right now!** **}**

Jaune turned off his CODEC. He faced his partner and nodded. "Help's on the way. Now, let's help out our team."

Pyrrha nodded and the two of them ran back in to the fray.

* * *

 **Play - Mortal Kombat Deception OST - Dragon King's Temple: The Dragon has Left the Building**

The Nuckelavee growled and slammed the pavement yet again, making Ren stumble. It clutched him by the neck and was about to fling him away when a shield sliced off its hand. It roared in pain.

Ren caught himself in the air and landed down. He looked up to see Nora falling down and quickly made the move to catch her. The ginger blushed before muttering a 'thank you' to him.

The shield rebound against a pole and smacked against the Nuckelavee's face. Jaune jumped up in and caught Akuou before diving down and bashed it against its horse-half's head. The blond was pulled back his mistress via her Semblance before the Nuckelavee could even think of hitting him.

Weiss and Damien stumbled from behind, rejoining the group. Jaune faced his friends, telling them to get to cover. Before any of them could ask why, a missile slammed straight into the Nuckelavee's face. The resulting explosion pushed it back, flames covering it. The Nuckelavee released another shriek of pain as the flames burned it.

 **"What?! Not enough to kill you, huh?!"**

The group of six looked up, hearing the familiar whirling noise they're about to get used to for days to come. The helicopter came into view, the guns attached to it starting rotate.

 **"Alright then. Eat lead, sucker!"**

The machine guns began to fire out bullets, raining down on the centaur-like Grimm. The Nuckelavee's roar did not cease. The bullets pierced through its body, holes now covering its body. But despite all that, it still stood, much to everyone's shock. Even Morpho was surprised. And begrudgingly, impressed.

 **"Goddamn! That thing's tough. Another missile ought to-"**

The pilot was completely cut off as sonic shock waves struck it, causing him to lose control due to its turbulent-like nature. The aircraft started to spin out of control, Morpho struggling to regain altitude.

 **"Shit! I'm losing altitude!"**

Everyone glared at the Nuckelavee, some of them even baring their teeth anger. The beast let out something reminiscent of a chuckle as the holes in its body began to close up. Pyrrha's eyes widened at this, her glare disappearing.

"Everyone, calm down! That thing's using us as a band aid!"

This earned her a few groans of annoyance and one grunt in embarrassment. By this time, Morpho had managed to regain altitude. Everyone felt their CODECs ring and quickly answered, Morpho's voice echoing through their heads.

 **{** **I have one last attack before I need to pull back. Get to cover. I mean it!** **}**

Quickly, everyone ran for about two blocks away and hid behind the most non-damaged building they could find. Morpho flipped open a hatch, revealing a hole the shape of a hand along with a button. He pressed the button and placed down his hand. He felt it siphon his Aura, making him shout out a war cry.

A compartment opened up underneath the helicopter and out came a large gun of sorts. Arcs of electricity began to charge up at the muzzle. Morpho grinned behind his baclava and shouted into the loudspeaker.

 **"Try this on for size! Super Former CO-OP Weapon, Railgun!"**

The electricity crackled and discharged out a large beam of pure voltage against the Nuckelavee. The Grimm shrieked in pain for the umpteenth time, feeling its skin peel off. The electricity gathered around it and resulted in a flash explosion.

Luckily, Morpho was wearing sunglasses. The pilot turned on his CODEC and contacted the group.

 **{** **There's no way that bastard survived that. Take care of any business you have there. I'll wait for you all at the LZ.** **}**

With that, Morpho took off. The group of six walked towards the crater, apprehension in their eyes. Ren had a hopeful look. Although it wasn't him who delivered the final blow, he hoped that there was nothing left of the Nuckelavee so he could finally gain closure.

The two of them had reached the crater and therein laid the Nuckelavee. It was unmoving, electricity crackling through its corpse. Ren looked at his friends and made a request.

"This may seem a bit out of the blue, but can I plunge this dagger into the Nuckelavee's head?"

Ren pulled out a sheathed dagger that he had hidden for so long. The dagger belonged to his father, who gave it to him just moments before his death.

"I had promised to myself that when the time came, I would use this weapon to enact the killing blow. But, seeing as it's already dead."

Jaune clasped his friend's shoulder and gave him a smile. "Don't worry, Ren. I'm sure by now, the people of Kuroyuri are in peace. But if it makes you feel any better, go ahead."

Lie smiled at the blond and nodded in gratitude. He walked up to the corpse of the Nuckelavee and pulled the dagger out of its sheath. He twirled it around and prepared to plunge, until he felt a hand place itself on his own. Ren looked to his side and saw Nora. The ginger gave him a smile and nodded. Ren couldn't help but smile back. The both of them raised the dagger and prepared to plunge it deep into the Nuckelavee.

However, Damien noticed a twitch coming from the Nuckelavee. His eyes widened in shock and tried to warn his friends.

"Look out!"

His warning came late. The Nuckelavee shook violent and stood, surprising Ren and Nora, the former dashing back on instinct while the latter fell down. Before any of the four could make a move, the Nuckelavee released another sonic shock wave, pushing them away and out of the crater.

The centaur-like beast was weakened, it was a fact it cannot deny. But one thought ran through its mind. If it were to die right here, it would drag along one of them. And Nora just so happened to be its target. It rose up to its hind legs and neighed, preparing to crush the hammer maiden.

Everyone's eyes widened in horror. The supernatural ones plus Weiss were too far away, with their Aura depleted to the point they couldn't use their Semblance.

Ren thought the same, his Aura was on the verge of shattering. But he didn't care. Every thought vacated his mind, instinct driving him to do one thing: take the hit for Nora.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Ren pushed his legs beyond its limit as he desperately reached out to Nora. The others pushed themselves up, preparing to run and attempt to save their friends themselves. Nora could only look close her eyes in horror as the Nuckelavee legs descended.

A cloud of dust stirred up as the Nuckelavee slammed down its legs. Jaune, Pyrrha, Damien and Weiss stopped in their tracks, eyes filled with shock. Were they too late? Before one of them could let out their tears, the dust cloud was blown away and revealed a sight they did not expect to see.

"Is Ren holding back the Nuckelavee?!" exclaimed Pyrrha.

There indeed it was. Ren had his arms crossed above his head, holding back the Nucklavee's feet. But what's most shocking of all were his arms. One could see black, bulging veins covering Ren's arms. Whatever it was, it helped him.

Jaune gasped, recognizing what they were. "Impossible! How does Ren have the U.D. variant of nanomachines?!"

Not wanting to waste time explaining, Jaune pulled in the three of them into the CODEC.

 **{** **The U.D. variant, or Ultimate Defense, is a strain of nanomachines that give the target just that. They harden in response to physical trauma. In other words, they absorb the blow so you can't get hurt. But that should be impossible… From what I remember, this variant is very unstable and can only be applied if the subject had…** **}**

 **{** **Had what, Jaune?** **}** asked Damien, curious as to why the blond trailed off.

 **{** **Nevermind that! We need to help out Ren, right now!** **}**

Ren glared at the Nuckelavee and pushed it back, causing it to stumble and trip down. Now, the thing was defenseless. From behind, his friends rushed in and went to attack the Nuckelavee, while Weiss stayed behind, helping Nora stand up.

Jaune took a slash it with his sword before backing down, allowing Pyrrha to go wild at the Nuckelavee. She repeatedly bashed its head into the floor before firing off a point blank blast of blaze straight to its horse body.

She rolled to the side, passing the dance to her brother. Damien roared and rapidly struck the Nuckelavee, giving it no quarter. He wanted to end its life, but he reminded himself that someone else deserved to pull the trigger.

Damien jumped the Nuckelavee and pinned down its arm with his hook swords, disabling it from moving. He moved out of the way, allowing Ren access towards the defenseless and flailing monster. He retrieved his dagger and walked towards the Nuckelavee, Nora trailing behind.

 **Play - Metal Gear Solid OST - Enclosure**

The two of them held the dagger in each others hand and went on to finish it off. They looked at each other, Nora giving Ren a nod.

"For my mother."

Its left arm was cut off, making it shriek in pain.

"For my father."

Its right arm was cut off, the screams of pain becoming more agitated and fearful.

"For the innocent people that you have killed."

The dagger plunged deep into the chest of the flailing Grimm, fear now imminent and its eyes.

Nora and Ren held the dagger over their heads, as one final glare settled itself on Ren's eyes.

"For myself, and Nora!"

They swung the knife, beheading the Nuckelavee. Its decapitated head rolled down onto the floor as both it and the its body began to disintegrate into a pillar of black smoke. Ren dropped down the dagger and sighed in relief before being tackled by Nora, giggling. He hugged her back, laughing with her.

The four of them watched the couple with a smile, happy for them that they finally put the ghost of their past to rest.

 _"Mother. Father. I did it."_ Ren thought with a smile on his face.

The two of them decided to stay for a couple of minutes, wanting to hold a moment of peace for the ones who fell during the Nuckelavee's rampage, the others giving them some space.

With their agenda in Kuroyuri done, they walked back to the helicopter and to rejoin their friends and resume their actual mission.

* * *

Nora and Ren happily rested on each others shoulder, their hands clutched together. Weiss was sitting beside Morpho, having a discussion with him regarding the aircraft they were in. Pyrrha and Damien were talking about something, probably about the latter's past.

This left Jaune alone, which is exactly what he wanted. A frown settled on his face, one thing echoing through his mind.

 _"How does Ren have the U.D. variant of nanomachines? For how long has he had it? When did he get it? How could he have it? The only one with high enough clearance to access it is-"_

A look of realization dawned Jaune's face. He now knew who gave Ren the nanomachines. He just needed confirmation. The blond looked towards the pilot seat and saw Weiss walk back to sit besides Damien.

 _"Perfect timing."_

Jaune mentally turned on his CODEC and contacted Morpho.

 **{** **Hey, Morpho. I need to ask you a favor.** **}**

 **{** **Jaune! If you needed to ask me this through CODEC, you must want to keep this a secret from your friends, huh?** **}**

 **{** **Yeah… It's not that I don't want to let them in on this, I just need to know first is if what I'm thinking is factual or not.** **}**

 **{** **I can understand that. Information's no good if it ain't fact checked. So, what do you need from me?** **}**

 **{** **...You wouldn't happen to know Uncle Anderson's CODEC frequency, would you?** **}**

* * *

 **Back in Arcadia**

"Are you sure about this, Aphrodite?"

Rose watched her friend pack up what stuff she had. The redhead closed up her pack and gave a nod to her fellow mother.

"Yes. I made up my mind. From what my daughter told me, based on Cinder's memories, Salem has a mole inside of Mistral. And that mole was the reason how that bitch and her lackeys got into Beacon and kickstarted the attack on Beacon, and in turn, is associated with Alu's death."

"But, Pyrrha and the others heading for Mistral as well, aren't they?"

Aphrodite slung the pack over her back and gave the strawberry-blonde a nod. "They are. But where I'm headed is quite far compared to where they're going."

Rose crossed her arms over her chest, giving Aphrodite an inquisitive look. "And where are you going?"

The redheaded widow gave her longtime friend a wicked smirk, one that spread a shiver down the Arc matriarch's spine and spoke of untold horrors that would be struck to those who incurred her wrath.

"I'm going to be paying Haven and Lionheart a little visit."


	27. Revelations

A motorcycle came to a grinding halt right in front of a tavern just outside of Patch. The owner parked the thing, took off her helmet, revealing Yang. She shook her head, trying to get rid of her helmet hair.

Yang was wearing a tan jacket with orange lining and gold edging, unzipped halfway, showing off an orange crop top. The sleeves of the jacket are darker in shade, along with a thick collar completely encircling Yang's neck and two long gold-trimmed rectangular tails. She's also wearing fitted black pants, two knee high brown boots, a purple bandanna tied around her left knee, and a pair of black fingerless gloves with long brown cuffs to complete her outfit. And her most surprising decision to change to her appearance was her hair, which she tied into a ponytail.

She cocked a grin on her lips and went straight into the tavern to get a drink. Once she was in, she looked around and immediately noticed that there weren't that much people inside. The blonde smiled, liking the jazzy tune playing in the background.

Yang approached the bar and sat down on the stool. "You guys got a Strawberry Sunrise?" she asked.

The bartender manning the station nodded, a small smile on his face. "That we do, young lady."

"Great. One Strawberry Sunrise, no ice please."

The bartender nodded and pulled out a bottle of strawberry-flavored vodka, some orange juice, grenadine and a piece of strawberry for garnishing. With that, he went ahead and started making her drink.

Yang blinked, hearing her Scroll beep. She pulled out her personal device and saw she got a message from Qrow.

 _ **'Hey kiddo. I'm with your mom right now. If you wanna meet up and maybe talk to her, we're heading towards a lab that's just pass Grove Street. Oh, and don't tell Tai about this, alright? Raven herself is gonna be the one to tell him face to face when the time comes. See ya, kiddo.'**_

Yang leaned against the bar, staring at her Scroll with a look of contemplation in her eyes. One on hand, she wanted to leave and finally confront her mother for abandoning her family for so many years, on the other, she needed to stay in Patch to help her father control Ruby, who was starting to become a bit unstable.

She was broken out of her musing by the bartender, who had gently slammed down the glass with her drink in it. The young man gave her a gentle smile and pushed the drink towards the blonde. Yang caught the glass immediately downed the drink. Once she was done, she slammed down the glass and licked her lips clean.

"Wooh! That was one of the best Strawberry Sunrises I've tasted!" She fished a couple of Lien out of her pocket and slid it towards the bartender. "My compliments, good sir. Get me another one!"

The bartender chuckled and obliged the blonde. While her second drink was being prepared, Yang decided to take another look around the tavern. Her eyes stopped on a group of seven people, having a conversation. What made her look at them was the way how they would looked over their shoulders, as if making sure no one was listening in on their conversation.

Yang couldn't completely hear what they were talking about, but she could something along the lines of 'defecting', 'Mantle', 'snakes' and 'Millennium'. Yang's eyes widened and swiveled around, pretending that she heard nothing.

The young barkeep placed down the Strawberry Sunrise and cocked an eyebrow at the blonde's expression. "Is something the matter, miss?"

"Yeah." replied Yang. She leaned in closer and pointed her thumb over at the suspicious-looking group. "Who are those guys?"

"Them?" he asked for verification. "Oh, they're just a bunch of regulars. Said they hailed from Vale and just moved out a month ago."

That was all she needed. Yang finished her drink and brought down the glass, placing down a couple of Lien on the bar. Before she could push herself up, the bartender placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, fully expecting to be attacked, but instead was met with a smile.

"Miss, please ease up on the fighting. Don't wanna renovate this place again too soon."

Yang gave him an understanding smirk and pushed herself off the stool and walked up to the group, cracking her knuckles. The seven noticed her approaching and spun around to greet her. The tallest one stood up from the table and cocked an eyebrow at the blonde.

"Whaddya want, little girlie? Can't you see we're a bit busy?"

The man was answered via a punch straight to the jaw, knocking him down to the ground. The fallen man growled and rubbed his bruising chin. He spat out blood and a few teeth. He was helped up by his friends, all of them glaring at Yang.

"You're gonna pay for that, girlie!" bellowed the man.

Yang flashed him a cheeky smile and made a taunting motion. "Bring it on, you ghoul fucks."

With their identities discovered, they discarded their clothing and revealed the uniforms of Millennium they wore underneath. They growled and one of them moved in to attack.

Yang blocked his karate chop and twisted the arm, pulling him in for a couple of punches to the face. She spun him around and threw the ghoul out of the tavern. One could hear the poor sap's cries of anguish. After all, ghouls and sunlight don't mesh well together.

"Kenny, no!" cried out a ghoul wearing a mask. He roared and charged at the blonde.

The ghoul threw a punch, but Yang parried it. He followed it up with a back kick, however it failed as Yang grabbed it and broke his leg. She pulled him in and shot him point-blank in the back of the head, giving him a gaping-sized hole.

Three of the ghouls pulled out sub-machine guns and opened fire upon the blonde beauty. Yang weaved through the bullets and clocked the ghoul closest to her. She quickly grabbed him before he could even recover and forced him to become a makeshift shield as his comrades continued to fire, riddling the poor bastard with bullets.

She threw his body to the ghoul on the left, distracting him and went for the guy on the right. The two of them traded punches and blows, before the ghoul managed to gain the upper hand and sucker punched Yang, making her stumble towards a ghoul's direction. The mook took the chance to blindside her. He grabbed her by the collar and hoisted her up, before bringing her down on his back. He threw her aside, smashing a couple of tables, much to the annoyance of the bartender.

Yang stood up and dusted herself off. The remaining four ghouls rushed towards the blonde, knives drawn out and ready to draw blood. Yang confronted the first one and caught his wrist. She twisted his ankle and forced him to impale himself straight in the stomach.

She pushed him away and went for the next one. She jumped back as this one seemed more oriented in combat. She parried a few of his strikes before she was hit on the cheek. Luckily, no gash appeared due to her Aura. The ghoul roared and jumped at Yang, attempting another stab. Unfortunately, Yang managed to block it and disarm him as well. She grabbed the ghoul and spun him around, before pushing him straight into his comrade, who had tried to lunge at the blonde with his knife out.

Meaning, he just stabbed his friend. And luckily for Yang, the guy got stabbed in the throat. Capitalizing on the distraction, Yang dashed over and tore off the distracted ghoul's head. She threw the head straight at the next ghoul, knocking him out and obliterating the head. And just for added measures, she slammed down her foot on the guy's head, smashing it like a melon.

The ghoul that Yang forced to stab himself stood up, still alive. He pulled out the knife embedded in his stomach and quietly crept up to the blonde. He flipped it around his fingers before letting it fall into a reverse grip. He raised his arm and prepared to plunge the knife deep in her back.

Yang turned around and fell down as the tip of blade was inches away from her neck. She gritted her teeth, mentally thanking herself that she managed to block the ghoul's attack by crossing together her arms. The ghoul suddenly pulled back, much to Yang's surprise, and quickly moved to bring it back down. Yang clenched her teeth and moved her right arm to take the blow. The ghoul's eyes widened as the blade bounced off the blonde's skin.

"What?!" he cried out in shock.

Yang took advantage of this and aimed her hand right at his chest. She grinned and uttered, "Rocket Punch!"

Her hand detached itself from her wrist and rocketed right into the ghoul's stomach. Luckily for Yang, she could control her arm's trajectory and pushed the undead mook outside. He cried out in pure agony, pain flaring up as he felt his skin turn to ash.

Yang walked out of the tavern and called back her arm, automatically re-attaching itself back to where it belonged. The bartender walked out as well, carrying the twice dead bodies of the ghouls with an impassive look. He threw the filth down on the ground, letting them burn to ash.

The young man dusted his hands off the filth and thanked Yang for her patronage, then walked back in to the tavern. The blonde went to the parking area and got on her bike, musing over what to decide.

 _"Meet Raven, or stay and help take care of Ruby. What do I choose?"_

Yang was snapped out of her musing when she heard her Scroll ring. She took out her mobile device and saw who was calling her.

 _"Ruby? Why is she calling?"_

The blonde answered the Scroll and placed it over her ear.

"Talk to me, little sis."

 _ **"Hey, Yang. I've been meaning to tell you something. It's really important. Don't get angry, alright?"**_

Yang cocked a smirk and leaned back. "You know me, sis. I can never get angry at you. So, lay it on me."

 _ **"Stop holding yourself back by holding my hand. I, I appreciate that you're looking after me, but it's been chaining you down, and you don't know it. I've always been a hindrance to you, so I might as well cut you loose. Go out there, and do you what you want to do without the need of looking behind your back to see if I'm fine, alright? Don't worry, I'll explain it to dad. Take care, sis."**_

Before she could even rebuttal against those words, Ruby quickly hung up. Yang stared agape at her Scroll, Ruby's words echoing in her mind.

 _"Ruby… What's wrong with you? I never saw or heard of this side of you, ever. You were never a hindrance to me, or anyone. You've always been helpful!"_ she thought to herself.

Yang sighed and placed away her Scroll. She kicked back the stand on her motor cycle and started the ignition. She put on the helmet and started revving up Bumblebee.

 _"You don't know it yourself, Rubes, but you were helpful just now. Thanks for helping me with my decision, sis. You take care too."_

With that, Yang drove off towards her next stop - Grove Street.

* * *

 **Menagerie**

"Well, here we are." said Sun as the ship they were on came to a halt. An off-ramp was lowered down, allowing the passengers to disembark.

He and Blake stepped onto the docks, admiring the view. Here they were, in Menagerie, home of the Faunus. Blake could feel the corner of her lips tug at the nostalgia she was feeling. After all, it has been a long time since she set foot into home.

Sun couldn't help but feel awe at the sight before him. He looked around and all he could see were his fellow Faunus conducting business, some others waiting for their friends or family and making some small talk.

"Man, this is unreal. This the first time I've seen so many Faunus in one place, besides that one time we infiltrated that Fang meeting."

Blake nodded. The two of them disembarked and started to walk through the market area together.

"That's right. This is the one place everyone can feel safe."

Sun lightly yelped as he dodged a Faunus carrying some boxes, making him realize something. "Has it always been so… cramped in here?"

The young cat Faunus sighed and confirmed the blond's question.

"Unfortunately that's the case when you take an entire species and dump them into an island that's two-thirds desert that teeming with dangerous wildlife."

"Damn. That's gotta suck. So they gave us this terrible island right in the corner of Remnant, to try and shut us up, huh?"

"That sums it up, yeah."

Sun frowned, looking at the Faunus he passed by with pity. "Man, I feel bad for everyone in here, then. But what about those people from the Luna Organization? You'd think they would be charitable."

Blake shrugged, not knowing what to tell him. "They do what they can, just like us." Blake looked down, her mood turning somber. "We asked to be equal, to be treated like everyone else. Instead, they gave us an island and make do with it. We did, but Menagerie has become nothing but a constant reminder that no matter what, we're still not equal. That we're still second-class citizens."

Sun patted her shoulder, giving her a consoling smile. "Don't worry. We'll push through somehow."

Before the two of them could continue, Blake held up her hand, telling Sun to stop. The two of them looked forward. Before them stood a dark-skinned girl with freckles, a Grimm mask on her faces with fake horns attached to it. Blake blinked in surprised and reached out to her.

"Illia? Is that you?"

Instead of responding, the girl turned red before disappearing from view. Blake frowned, leading to Sun placing his hand on her shoulder again in concern.

"An old friend?"

"...Yeah. You could say that."

The two of them resumed their walking. Minutes later, they paused to look at the view before them. Sun's smile grew, crossing his arms. "Man. After everything gets settled, I wouldn't mind living here. So, where's your house?"

Blake allowed a playful smile to encompass her face as she pointed directly right at the large, three-story house that the road seemed to lead to. Sun's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at Blake with a questioning expression. He took a step back and made a small noise of amazement.

Blake softly chuckled at his expression before starting to descend down. Sun snapped out of his stupor and quickly followed the cat Faunus.

"What? That practical mansion over there is your house? Seriously? I been calling Weiss a princess when that's the nickname I should have been calling you, like wow!"

The two of them walked up to the stone steps leading to the front door and paused. Blake reached out to grab the knocker but hesitated at the last second. Sun looked at her with a gaze that questioned her resolve.

"What's the matter? You came all this way to see them."

Blake took a breathe for courage and grabbed the knocker, loudly banging it. The sound of the knocker was loud, heavy and resonating, making Sun take a few steps back, while Blake did the same, albeit voluntarily.

"Okay, if we're being honest, that's sorta intimidating."

The two were a bit startled at the sound of the door being opened. Out came a female cat Faunus, looking like an older version of Blake, but with short hair. She looked at the knockers of her door and her ears perked up at the sight of Blake. The Faunus moved the door out of the way, getting a better look at who was in front of her.

"Blake?" asked the lady in uncertainty.

Blake lifted her arm to wave in greeting, although it came off as a bit awkward. "Hi, mom."

The Belladonna matriarch stepped forward and embraced her daughter in a tight hug. "My baby girl." she tenderly said.

For a moment, Blake hesitated, before she smiled and reciprocated the hug. Sun looked at the scene with a soft smile. His ears wiggled, the sounds of footsteps coming closer and closer. He faced the door, where a large shadow falls onto the the entryway. Mrs. Belladonna broke away from Blake at the sound of her husband's voice.

"Kali? Who is it?"

Mrs. Belladonna broke away from Blake at the sound of her husband's voice and turned to face him. The figure stepped out of the shadows revealing a large, male cat Faunus.

"Our baby girl, Ghira. She's back."

Ghira's expression contorted into that of surprise, his entire body falling into the same reaction. Sun lightly grinned at the reaction Blake was getting and turned to look how she was taking it.

Blake had her arms clasped in front of her, waiting for her father to making any sort of reaction. Kali had her arms placed supportively over Blake's arm and shoulder. Ghira remained silent, but his expression was all that was needed to hell he was beyond happy that his daughter was back.

Sun and Blake exchange sideways glances, the former giving her a thumbs up.

* * *

The Belladonna family plus Sun all sat down on the floor, around a square table. Kali had brewed up some tea, serving some to herself, her husband, her daughter, and Sun. She placed down her cup and looked at Blake.

"We were horrified when we heard the news. While Vale is far from perfect, it certainly didn't deserve what happened. The both of us were so worried."

Ghira scoffed, sipping some of his tea. "Oh please, I knew she'd be fine!"

Kali rolled her eyes, crossing her arms underneath her chest. "That isn't the slightest bit true. You were pacing around so much, we had to get a new carpet!"

Sun drank his tea via his tail and looked at the parents with a placating look. "The two of you honestly didn't have anything to worry about. She could take care of herself just fine if all those fights she's been were any proof."

"Ho? Explain, Mr. Wukong." said Ghira.

"Honestly, Blake moves and fights like those ninjas you'd see in some movies and anime. And with good reason, she's fast as one, skilled as one and pretty virtuous. Blake has helped a lot of people during her time in Beacon and made quite a lot of friends."

Ghira and Kali smiled, happy to know that their daughter had a grand time during her stay in Beacon.

"And you, Mr. Wukong, are one of those friends?" asked Kali.

Before the blond could reply, Blake had cut in. "Uh, actually, he's more than that… Sun's my boyfriend."

"What?!" both Belladonna parents exclaimed, although with different emotions. Shock in Ghira's case and joyful surprise for Kali's.

"D-Don't you think it's a bit too early to start dating, Blake?" almost begged Ghira. He had just reunited with his daughter, and now he was hearing that she was currently dating someone, he feared she may be ripped away from them soon.

Kali rolled her eyes and smacked him on the back. "Oh don't be like that, darling. Can't you imagine all the grand babies we could spoil once these two tie the knot?"

Blake and Sun choked on their tea because of the Belladonna matriarch's words. The both of them sported a blush and tried their very best to avert each other's eyes.

"I, uh, that's a little too early, don't ya think, Mrs. Belladonna? Me and Blake just started dating about a month ago, after all."

"Nonsense. And please, call me Kali." she insisted.

"I suppose you can call me by my first name, Mr. Wukong. But don't think for a second that I like you."

Sun chuckled nervously as he felt a sweat drip down his chin. "That's uh, that's good to know, Ghira."

Before they could move on with the discussion, the knocking of the door interrupted them, making Ghira groan in annoyance.

"Damn it, I completely forgot about the meeting." He slammed down his fist onto the table to further emphasize his annoyance.

"Meeting?" Blake and Sun met in a sideways glance, looking confused and concerned.

Ghira let out a grunt and excused himself, telling the two to give him a moment as he walked out. Blake looked at her mother for an explanation.

"Is everything alright?"

Kali sighed but nodded. "Yes, dear. Just very poor timing. Ghira can reschedule. It's just been hard dealing with them lately."

"Dealing with who?" Blake pressed further.

The Belladonna matriarch cocked an eyebrow as she sipped her tea. "Did you already forget, dear? The White Fang, of course."

Both Blake and Sun rose to their feet, shocked expressions on their face. The rushed to the door and saw Ghira speaking with two Faunus with fox traits. One was taller, although his trait was not as distinct. The other was shorter, but his traits, the fox ears, were as distinct as orange would be in an all-black room. Ghira seemed rigid, as if restraining himself while the latter two had respectful and formal postures.

"Dad!"

Ghira turned to face his daughter and saw her look of wary. "Blake, what's the matter?"

The two bowed at Blake, the taller one speaking first. "Sister Blake."

"We had no idea you had returned." finished the shorter Faunus.

Blake ignored the two, in favor of focusing at her father. "Why are you to talking to these people?"

Ghira raised his hand and gestured to the two, introducing them. "This is Corsac," The taller of the duo. "and Fennec Albain." The shorter of the two. "They represent the White Fang here in Menagerie now."

Sun waved his hands around, starting to get a bit confused. "Wait wait wait wait, pull back a bit. Those bands of psychopaths are here too?!"

Fennec cocked an eyebrow and tried to assure Sun that whatever portrayal the media had for them was far from the truth. Blake, however, was quick to refute.

"Enough with your lies! We've seen firsthand what happened. I can't believe I'm agreeing with the media, but they were right. The White Fang has become nothing but fanatics who slaughter people!"

Ghira's visage grew horrified, as were Corsac and Fennec. He turned to the two, his eyes narrowing down into a glare. "What is my daughter talking about?"

"P-Precisely what we came to discuss with you, Your Grace." stuttered out Corsac. "B-Believe us, we have an explanation for this."

Kali approached the five of them, concern starting to become apparent on her expression. "Is everything okay?"

"No." replied Sun. The blond's mood had been drastically drowned at the sight of the White Fang representatives. "Everything is NOT alright, Kali. Not at all."

Although he knew that Sun meant no harm to his wife, Ghira acted on instinct and glared at Sun. "Watch your tone with my wife, Mr. Wukong. And how is everything not alright?"

This time, Blake had spoken, her mood synchronizing with Sun's. "I had two reasons for coming back to Menagerie; One was to visit my parents, and the other; was to confront Sienna Khan. The White Fang participated in the battle against Beacon and Vale. They attacked innocent civilians and released Grimm into the school!"

There was a brief silence. Fennec made a concerned, sideways glance at his companion, who had met it with his own. Ghira slowly turned to face the two representatives, rage beginning to settle in his face.

"Is this true?" he asked lowly, anger seeping in his tone.

Fennec sighed and nodded. "Regrettably, Your Grace, it is indeed true."

Sun glared at the two and started to march up to them. "Don't act like you're in-"

"That's quite enough, Mr. Wukong." interrupted the Belladonna patriarch. Ghira nodded at the Albains, silently telling them to explain themselves.

Corsac bowed and started them off. "Though it pains us to admit, it has become apparent that the Vale branch of the White Fang is no longer operating under orders of High leader Khan. Rather, they've elected to follow the rule of one Adam Taurus. I believe you're all familiar with the young adept and his… extreme philosophies."

"The High Council had their suspicions of a splinter group, but they could prove nothing until this latest incident." finished Fennec.

And this set something off in Sun. His expression contorted into anger as took a few steps forward.

"Incident? Incident?! What a load of complete and utter bullshit! Innocent people are dead, and it wasn't only the humans those bastards targeted! They hurt fellow Faunus as well!"

The Albain brothers took a step back, completely thrown away by the monkey Faunus's anger. The Belladonna family was completely taken aback as well, Blake most of all.

"And, forgive me for my somehow rude wording, but how can you be sure that they did?"

"Because I'm one of them!"

At this declaration, Sun tore off his coat and turned around, facing his back to the others. The four other Faunus gasped at the sight, while Blake could only flinch at being indirectly reminded of her failure to protect Sun.

There on the blond's back was a long scar running deep from the collarbone down to just above his tailbone. It was still prominent, a few stitches still visible. Sun craned his neck, just to glare at the Albain brothers.

"This, this is proof! Taurus did this to me himself! He tried to hurt Blake and I jumped in to take this hit for her. But that wasn't the only thing that bastard did to me!"

To their, again, immense shock, he tightly gripped his tail and ripped it off. Or more like he unattached it. Sun looked at the bionic tail with so much grief and sadness in his eyes.

"That bastard Taurus. The thing that marked me as a Faunus, the thing that marked my pride as who I am, what I fight for! He sliced it without any sort of hesitation, and I was forced to get a bionic one just to replace it!"

Sun placed back his tail and put back his coat and turned once again to face the two representatives although he stayed silent, giving back the reins to Ghira. The male Belladonna internally smirked at Sun, having started to respect him for that little outburst of his. Ghira shook his head and focused on the matter at hand.

"Given Mr. Wukong's little example, how can I be sure that I can trust the White Fang?" His tone now bore danger. If an answer was not delivered to him, consequences would be given.

Corsac almost begged. "Please believe us, Your Grace. High Leader Khan sent us here to assure you that Taurus and his band do not represent of the White Fang."

"If you bear any skepticism towards these claims, we have ample documentation from the council meeting, a well as several strategies to apprehend and punish the strays that dared to betray the original mission if you care to review them." finished Fennec.

Ghira crossed, considering the brothers' words. When he made his decision, he nodded at the two. "I shall, but not today. I would like some time to reconnect with my daughter."

The Albain brothers smiled and bowed before Ghira. "But of course, Your Grace. We completely understand."

"It was nice to see you again, young Blake. We were saddened when we heard of your departure from the White Fang, but we can understand if you can no longer support our cause…" trailed off Fennec.

Blake crossed her arms but allowed a smirk to encompass her face. "Don't worry, I'm not done fighting yet. I won't stop. Not until equality's been achieved."

"If that is the case, come find us if you wish to return." suggested Corsac.

Fennec nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Sister Illia would be elated. And with that, we shall take our leave."

The two made a final bow and walked off and back to their work. Ghira firmly closed the door behind them as Kali stood beside him. Blake placed a hand over Sun's shoulder, looking at him with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay? I know you're still sensitive when it comes to your scar and your tail."

Sun tried to assure her it was fine, but could only muster a weak smile. "It's fine. Nothing to beat yourself up over it."

The two of them walked off, leaving Kali and Ghira alone.

"I like him."

* * *

 **Vermilion City**

Vermilion City, a quaint little settlement that became famous as a spot for travelers and many inspiring Hunters to come due to the many shops for necessities, equipment and weaponry.

And that is exactly why Ozpin and company were currently in this city. Oscar lacked a weapon. And if he wanted to fight, then he would need a weapon.

The four of them stopped in front of a shop. Just based from the exterior, one could guess it belonged to a blacksmith. And if the words "The Forge" attached over the roof wasn't enough to convince them, then they're stupid.

They entered, causing the bell to ring to notify of the owner of possible customers. A second later, a voice shouted out from the back room.

"A moment!"

A man around his mid-thirties walked out of the back doors. He had black and slightly messy hair, purple eyes and a modest yet lean built. The man wore a black, long sleeved polo shirt, the sleeves folded up to his arms, his hands covered by some gloves. His lower half was garbed in a simple pair of pants and a pair of boots. Over it was a long leather apron, some stains covering it. The man walked up to the counter and smiled at the four.

"Welcome to The Forge, where you find your destined partner for battle. How can I help you?"

Ozpin patted Oscar's shoulder and gestured him to the owner of the ship.

"Young Oscar here requires a weapon, Obsidian. We were hoping that would be the man for the job to help him find what suits him the most."

Obsidian cracked a grin. He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded at the man.

"Certainly. I just need a few drops of his blood and we're all set."

"Will this be enough?"

Raven pulled out a vial half-filled with crimson liquid, presumably Oscar's blood. The young boy stared at the vial with horror in his eyes, before it was redirected towards Raven.

"Why do you have my blood?"

Raven shrugged, before handing the vial over to Obsidian. "Safety precautions, and the likes."

Obsidian stared at the vial, gently tapping it with his middle finger. He observed the blood under the light for a few more seconds until he nodded.

"Yes. This will do. I hope you intend to stay. Perfection cannot be rushed."

The blacksmith walked back through the back doors to start working on Oscar's weapon. To pass the time, Raven and Qrow stared at the various weapons put up for display, appreciating the craftsmanship behind it. And Ozpin just stood there, sipping from his mug… which he got out of thin air.

"So… why did he need my blood?"

No one paid attention to him, however. Oscar sighed and sat down on one of the recliners. He picked up a magazine and opened up to a random page. Not even a minute has passed, Obsidian barged through the doors, holding something.

Oscar jumped up from his seat, clearly surprised. "How is it already done?!"

Obsidian merely chuckled and handed the forged weapon to Oscar. The young farm boy was dismayed to find that his weapon was, "A hoe?" He looked at Obsidian, asking for an explanation. "Why a hoe?"

Indeed, in his hand was a double-sided hoe, although one could see its blade was sharpen than it should be. Obsidian crossed his arms and explained.

"Just judging from your looks, you look like a farm boy, and one that seems to have some experiencing in handling tools. Besides, that ain't no ordinary hoe. Flick it to the side."

Oscar did as he was told and, again, was clearly surprised as he heard the sounds of gears grinding, as the hoe folded up and expanded, shaping into a shotgun. Oscar looked at the thing, amazed. But Obsidian wasn't done it.

"Normally, you cock back a shotgun. But I want you to cock it forward."

Again, Oscar did what the blacksmith told him and, again, he heard the sounds of gears grinding as the gun started changing shape. This time, it transformed into a cane similar to Ozpin's.

"That's your weapons stand-by phase. So all-in-all, your weapon has three forms. A cane, a hoe, and a shotgun. To switch back into its second form, just brandish it. Or if you want to do vice versa, just brandish it again."

"So," spoke up Qrow. "how much do we owe you?"

"There is no need. Oz's credit is good. No payments this time."

Ozpin smiled and bowed in gratitude to the blacksmith. "Thank you, Obsidian. You were always a great help to me."

"He he heh. Anytime, Oz."

* * *

 **Helicopter En Route to Mistral**

 **{** **You what?!** **}**

 **{** **Please understand, my boy. I had no other choice. It was that, or let him die.** **}**

Jaune shook his head and glared at Anderson. Or at his video feed to be more accurate. The two of them were currently engaged in a conversation via the CODEC. The topic? Ren and his nanomachines.

 **{** **Okay, I'll concede with that point, but why didn't you tell me or my team, or even Ren himself?! If it wasn't for the fact that he still had some Aura left in him, the nanomachines wouldn't have activated to take the blow for him! He could have killed himself out there. Again!** **}**

Jaune inhaled and exhaled in attempt to calm himself down and suppress the tears that threatened to fall out.

 **{** **Don't you trust me, Uncle Anderson? Why didn't you tell me that Ren died?!** **}**

 **{** **Because it would've shattered you!** **}**

The blond was completely taken aback by the priest's sudden outburst. He could only respond with one single word.

 **{** **What?** **}**

 **{** **I didn't tell you anything because of who you are, Jaune. You're a hero, there's no doubt about it. But when you fail to save someone, no matter how hard you tried, you'd always become depressed, beating yourself over it, taking fault for something completely out of your jurisdiction. That's why, I didn't say anything. Because I wanted to keep you happy.** **}**

Jaune could see that if it weren't for the fact that his uncle was a battle-hardened man, he would've broken down crying. The Arc Vampire sighed and looked at Anderson with an understanding smile.

 **{** **...thank you. I'll tell Ren of his full capabilities, if you don't mind. See you, Uncle Anderson. God be with you.** **}**

 **{** **And with your Spirit.** **}**

Jaune leaned back as he dropped his CODEC's interface. The blond blinked as he felt Pyrrha's hand gently clutch his.

"Are you alright, Jaune?"

"Don't worry, Pyr." he reassured he redhead. "Just thinking about what we'll see when get to our destination."

Trusting in his words, Pyrrha didn't press further. Jaune looked at Ren. He was gently patting Nora's hair, who had her head on his lap, lying down comfortably. Ren took notice of his leader staring and questioned it.

"Is there something you need, Jaune?"

Before he could give his answer, the helicopter violently rocked, awaking Nora, Damien and Weiss. Morpho's voice rang through the CODEC, informing them of what's happening.

 **{** **Griffons are attacking the chopper and I can't maneuver this thing fast enough to attack the damned birds! I'm gonna open up the hatches, so get ready to blast these bastards.** **}**

Morpho did his best to steady the helicopter, allowing the six to compose themselves. They quickly took out their weapons and got themselves ready. The hatches on both side slid open, revealing a flock of Griffon harassing their ride.

One of the bird Grimm screeched and swooped in to scratch the helicopter, only for it to meet its end at the hands of Damien. The incubus jumped out and spread his wings, rushing towards the attacking flock. He brandished his hook swords and bifurcated any Griffon that came near him.

Ren knelt down and and gave Damien cover fire, riddling some of the Griffons with holes. Nora stood behind her man and launched a few grenades, scoring some hits and even managed to make one of the Griffons swallow one.

Morpho turned to the three who lacked any sort of long-range weaponry and nodded at a green box. "There should be some weapons in that crate over there. Open it up and get yourself armed." he suggested.

Jaune, Pyrrha and Weiss ran up to the crate and saw the old symbol for ammo on it. Jaune unlocked the crate and opened it up to see, conveniently, three weapons. A revolver, an assault rifle and what seemed to be a grenade launcher. Jaune grabbed the revolver, Weiss took the rifle, leaving Pyrrha with the grenade launcher.

The three of them went to the other and prepared to fire, until Jaune got an idea.

"Hey, Pyr. Mind launching me into one of those Griffons?"

Pyrrha obliged. She used her Semblance on her servant and flung him outside. Jaune drew out Nigrum Mors and stabbed it into the side one of the Griffons. He grunted and rode on the large Grimm, using his weapon to force it into which direction he desired.

Jaune drew out the revolver and spun it around like a typical gunslinger, before shooting one of the Griffons by its wing. He took aim at the next one and shot it straight in the head.

Both Weiss and Pyrrha looked at the interesting scene, their lips curling into an 'o'. Weiss snapped out of it and positioned herself in a stance that made her feel comfortable while wielding the assault rifle. She probably should've asked Jaune if they could switch weapons.

The scarred female narrowed her eyes and steadied her breath, her finger hovering over the trigger. And then she pulled the trigger, spraying bullets at the Griffons it could reach. Weiss gripped the rifle as best she could, trying to stand her ground and not get pushed back by the recoil.

Pyrrha didn't bother kneeling down and just aimed. She scoped around until she found her target. Pyrrha quickly pulled the trigger and was immediately surprised at what the gun shot. Not a grenade, but a bullet. Indeed it matter, however. The bullet sailed through and pierced one of the Griffon, and it practically exploded.

Pyrrha looked at the gun she held and grinned. _"I've been meaning to find a replacement for_ _my xiphos_ _. And it has the same firepower as Father's Casull or the Jacklal. Maybe even more."_ She grunted and went back to obliterating more Griffons.

Jaune grunted, hearing the revolver click. He saw that he was a sizable distance away from the chopper and decided to make a risk. He pulled out his blade out of the Griffon and turned it into its shotgun form, shooting the thing in the head pointblank. Jaune stepped on the corpse and used it as a stepping stone and jumped towards the chopper. Seeing as he couldn't reach it, Jaune shifted his personal gravity, enabling himself to dash forward and grab hold of the helicopter's skid.

Jaune looked up and saw Ren offer his hand. The blond grunted and clasped onto his friend's arm and was immediately helped up. He thanked Ren and went to go reload the revolver he took.

Damien struggled to stave off the Griffons, who had made the decision to come after him. The red-haired incubus grunted and surged out some of his magic with a roar, pushing back the Griffons. Empowered, he made quick work of the annoying birds. He sheathed his hook swords at his sides and made his way back to the helicopter, only for a Griffon to suddenly crash right at him, bringing him down to the water.

Weiss reached out to her lover and cried out to him. "Damien!"

The two crashed into the ocean. The Griffon's body resurfaced, having drowned. Damien came next, but one could see he was struggling to remain afloat. Ren's eyes widened, realizing the implication.

"Oh no. He can't swim!"

Before Weiss could jump down, Pyrrha had beat her to it. The redhead dived in and swam towards her brother. Pyrrha floated in front of her brother and calmed him down. Damien stopped struggling, allowing Pyrrha to sling over his arm around her shoulder.

Morpho gently descended the chopper as Pyrrha swam towards it.

"You seriously don't know how to swim? Really?"

Damien chuckled under his breath before coughing out a bit of water. "I didn't found a reason to. Why swim when I can fly? The sky has a more beautiful view."

"Careful. Weiss might get jealous." she teased. Once the chopper was reachable, Pyrrha first helped her brother get in, with Weiss assisting him. Then, she got climbed in.

Pyrrha was about to close the hatch when she saw something large under the water. Panicking, she snapped her head to Morpho, telling him to quickly get them out. Noticing her behavior, he obliged.

Jaune walked up to his mistress, asking her what she saw. Pyrrha said nothing and instead pointed at the large shadow forming under the ocean. Two red orbs began to glow within the blackness, making Jaune pale.

"I, uh, think you made the right call, Pyr."

* * *

 **Haven - Headmaster's Office**

Lionheart sat in his desk, musing as to how his life ended up like this. When he became a Headmaster, he never expected fairy tales to be actually true, he never thought that things like magic actually existed. But what's worse is after being inducted into Ozpin's little group, Salem approached him and… 'coerced' him into doing her bidding, betraying Ozpin's trust.

Today, he was going to betray the trust of another. Salem had communicated with him via Grimm Seer, ordering him to eliminate the head of Hellsing, Integra. Lionheart knew Integra when she was just a little girl, and now, he was being forced to take her out of the picture.

 _"Am I doing the right thing? First I betrayed Ozpin, then I killed off the Huntsmen and Huntresses in my employment by sending them to suicide missions, now finally, I'm backstabbing Integra."_

"Chin up, Lionheart. And stop with your unnecessary musing."

The lion Faunus looked up, seeing Arthur and Hazel enter his office, accompanied by a squadron of ghouls. The cowardly headmaster sighed. He straightened himself and put on a look of confidence.

"This is what Mistress Salem sent to deal with Hellsing?"

Arthur crossed his arms and nodded. "Correct. The ghouls, along with Hazel, will lie in wait until the targets arrive. Distract them however you please, until I block out the entrance so the ambush can be sprung."

"I see… I assume you already know where the vault is located?" When Lionheart received nothing but nods, he nodded back. "Alright. Go there and prepare yourselves. Integra and her crew will come shortly."

Hazel grunted and motioned for the ghouls to come follow him, leaving Lionheart and Arthur. The former mentally sighed, accepting his fate.

* * *

"Why exactly do you need my men again, Leo?"

Lionheart, Integra and Walter and a couple of her men walked through the hallways, following the Faunus.

"Well, with the recent shortage of my Huntsmen, I couldn't find anyone suited to protect the vault that contained the Relic."

Integra took out the cigar in her mouth and puffed out smoke. She cocked an eyebrow, skeptical of the reasons. "But the vault of every school is supposed to be well hidden. It isn't supposed to be guarded because it could be traced back, and in turn, the vault gets discovered."

"Yeah, but I'd rather not risk it, ya know? Especially with Millennium and Salem not making moves. I fear they made suddenly target one of the Relics."

"Fair point." she conceded.

Soon, they arrived to the entrance of the vault. Lionheart and the others stepped onto the platform and it lowered itself down. Integra stepped off the platform, smiling at the sight of the vault.

"No matter how many times I see it, all of still looks mesmerizing."

Walter and the Hellsing operatives walked up to their leader, joining her in watching the view. Lionheart gulped, seeing Hazel nod at him. Before he could speak, Walter took the opportunity to ask the headmaster a question.

"Why exactly are we guarding the vault? If I remember it right, Alucard once told me that the relic can only be obtained if one possesses the power of the Maiden assigned to the respective vault. The Spring Maiden, in this case."

Lionheart made up an excuse on the fly. "Why, you can never be too sure, Walter. And besides the Fall Maiden, we have no whereabouts regarding the other three maidens."

Integra smirked and crossed her arms together. "Actually, we have knowledge regarding the Spring Maiden, and we're sure that she's not in Salem's pocket." The blonde lightly glared at the headmaster, who began to sweat heavily. "So, tell us, Leo. Why exactly did you bring us here? If this is a prank, I'll smack your head upwards."

The cowardly man remained silent, making Integra irritated. Before she could do anything, everyone heard the sound of a loud explosion. Integra and her men saw the be destroyed, the hole was then covered up by something metallic.

Hazel and the ghouls jumped out of their places, surrounding the Hellsing operatives. They were outnumbered. Integra's eyes widened in realization, before narrowing down into a scathing glare, focusing it directly at Lionheart. But it wasn't her that had the vocal reaction.

"You son of a bitch. Have you no shame, Leonardo? Have you no regret?! You sold us out to Salem?!" bellowed out Walter, his glare fiercer than Integra's. "So that's why all of the Huntsmen in your command fell off the grid. You fed them to the enemy! They had family, and you mercilessly tore them apart!"

Lionheart weakly waved around his arms, trying to explain his arms. "P-lease, Walter! I'm sure you can understand. A few lives for the safety of many. A-and besides, she can't be beaten, and I don't wanna die!"

Integra scoffed. "Many thought the same to Alucard… And look what happened to him. Cruel as it may be, it just proves that his philosophy was right."

Hazel raised an eyebrow. "A merciless murderer like Alucard has a philosophy? What would that be?"

Integra snapped her cigar in half, her glasses gleaming brightly. "There is no such thing as an immortal." She sneered at her enemies and snapped her fingers. "Men, ready yourselves!"

Her men loaded and cocked their guns, ready to fight. Walter cracked his knuckles, his wires coming to life. Integra unsheathed her saber, her glare never wavering.

"After all of this is done, I'll have your head on a fucking platter!"


	28. Ambush

Integra and Walter could barely contain their anger, but they also couldn't deny the fact that they also felt hurt. Lionheart was once a trusted ally, someone who helped them in some of their times of need. And now, he was against them.

Fortunately for Integra, her anger overrode the hate. She roared and lunged at Lionheart, swinging down her blade. The traitorous headmaster brought forth his weapon, wrist-mounted claws, and raised them to block Integra's attack. However, the force behind it caused him to skid back and slam into the wall

The others quickly went off and started the fighting. The operatives of Hellsing formed up pairs, covering each other's backs as they fired against the undead men. The men roared as they mowed down the ghouls that tried to attack them.

Integra rapidly swung her saber like a mad beast, nothing but rage driving her. "You filthy, mopey, sack of horse dicks!" Integra jabbed her saber, the blade deflected back by Lionheart's claws.

"Please understand, Integra!" pleaded Lionheart. "This is for the good of all, I promise!"

The blonde hissed furiously and met in a clash of weapons against the Faunus. "Pure, utter bullshit! Your excuses are so pathetic, even a newborn infant could see right through them!"

Integra tried to capitalize in on an opening she saw, but the claws interfered yet again. Lionheart attempted to beg, his eyes looking its best to appear sympathetic. "Why won't you believe me?! I had everyone's interest at mind when I made my decision!"

Integra pulled back her saber and whipped out her gun, firing a few shots that would strike the head, the chest and the shin. Lionheart acted quickly, shredding the bullets before it could hit him. Seeing as that approach didn't work, Integra went back to the more direct kind. Yet again, the two clashed blades, canceling one another's attacks before it ended up to another stalemate.

"Lies! What about those innocent Huntsmen and Huntresses you sent to their deaths?! They had nothing to do with any of this, and yet you turned them to nothing but cannon fodder!"

Lionheart crossed his arms before he unleashed a series of slash attack, momentarily surprising Integra. She grunted as the cowardly man forced her back, making her switch to defense. Lionheart pounced Integra, before sending her stumbling back with a swift strike to the face.

The traitor fell to his knees, looking at Integra with an expression that tells someone that they've completely lost it. Every rational sense now gone. "I'm innocent! You and your men are the murderers! Place yourself in my shoes and you'll see that what I'm saying is true! In fact, you should be in this boat!"

 _"Great."_ thought Integra. _"He's completely gone bonkers, spouting out random bullshit."_ Nonetheless, it didn't deter Integra. It just fueled her to end this man's miserable existence.

Integra cocked an eyebrow. Three ghouls placed themselves between her and Lionheart, giving the cowardly traitor time to get away and recuperate.

The undead mooks roared at Integra and charged forward. Integra tightly gripped her saber and decapitated one of the ghouls. She didn't stop there. With a grunt, she bisected the headless corpse, the two halves falling down with a slump. The remaining two unholstered their guns and opened fire at Integra.

Hellsing's current leader either sliced through or deflected the bullets back to sender, clearly showing effort in her actions. In a finishing move, she spun around before deflecting the last bullets straight into the heads of the two ghouls, killing them.

Flicking down her saber, Integra wiped the blood off its blade. She scowled and went to go look for Lionheart.

* * *

Walter effortlessly disposed of the ghouls that dared to even approach him. His micro-filament wires drizzling with blood. More ghouls came at him, equipped with guns. Walter flashed them a wicked grin as he manipulated his wires, entangling each ghoul within his vicinity. The butler raised his hand and brought it down on his wires, which then, in turn, sliced through ghouls, dicing them up.

Walter looked up, seeing Integra start to get cornered by some ghouls. Naturally, as her butler, he was worried and rushed in to support her. Before he could even take a few steps, Walter was blindsided, his face slamming down onto the floor.

The bespectacled man grunted, pushing himself off the ground as he looked up to see a huge, hulking figure before him. It was a no-brainer to guess who this could be.

"I will be your opponent." declared Hazel.

Having no other choice, Walter begrudgingly accepted. He jumped back, furthering the space between them. Hazel charged forward and started swinging his fists wildly. Walter's eyes widened, seeing the force behind these attacks.

Thankfully, having a lithe and nimble body allowed him to easily dodge the large man's swings. Walter sprung his wires to life and snagged Hazel's arms, stopping him. The butler would've smirked victoriously had it not been for Hazel's look of indifference.

Walter clicked his tongue and clenched tighter on the wires, further restricting it around Hazel. The large man held the wires in an iron grip and pulled it back, using it to swing around the elder like a rag doll. The butler grunted as he was swung around, smacking into a couple of ghouls and some concrete. Hazel made a simple grunting noise as he harshly slammed down Walter onto the floor, his wires retracting back to him.

Hazel checked his arms and founds cuts all over it, making hum in thought. Walter pushed himself up into a kneeling position, slightly panting from being tossed around like he weighed nothing.

"How are you able to resist my wires? You took them like they were nothing and I've been able to reduce buildings to nothing but chunks with these!"

The large man grunted and clenched his fist, the cuts on his arms receding. "I am insensitive to pain. At times."

Walter immediately figured it out. "Your Semblance. It allows you to numb yourself to pain." He stood up, recomposing himself. "But that doesn't exactly explain how you were able to resist against my wires."

Hazel cocked his head, his face blank. "Now, why would I divulge that information?"

"A fair point." conceded Walter. His wires quickly flared up, surrounding him. "Shall we continue?"

Not waiting for an answer, Walter rushed in and converged his wires, forming some sort of cube shape and sent it Hazel. The large man raised his hands to block it and was pushed back. Walter suddenly pulled back and raised it into the air, only to bring it down, slamming Hazel into the ground.

Walter recalled his trusty weapons. He turned his sights to the left, seeing his comrades starting to struggle against the seemingly never ending wave of ghouls. As he prepared to assist his fellow hunters, Hazel had grabbed him by the head and headbutted him. The large man cocked back his fist and repeatedly jabbed the butler's stomach. After the tenth jab, he firmly held Walter's head and kneed it, knocking back the older man into the tree that also contained the relic.

Walter's body slid down with a small thump. The butler craned his neck and cracked it. He wiped off the blood about to drip from his lips and panted, catching his breath. Luckily, Hazel gave him the time to do so.

 _"Yet again, I'm being beaten by a man who possesses such unnatural strength. I dread the day those two would meet. If that Major had not aged in the slightest, then that means_ _ **he**_ _is still in his prime."_

At the word, he, the image of a certain Captain flashed in Walter's mind. Hazel crossed his arms as he passively watched Walter recover.

"You are outmatched, Walter C Dornez. This match up was the worst possible one you could have gotten, which is exactly why I am your opponent." He uncrossed his arms, interest starting to show in his eyes. "Major told me something - that he had once an given you an offer to join Millennium."

Walter's eyes widened in fear, being reminded of that little fact. He checked to see if Integra was near-by to have heard it. Luckily, she was far away from his position, mowing down a mob of ghouls, making him sigh in relief.

"You had almost accepted, yet you declined at the very last second. Why is that?"

Walter looked down, his eyes shadowed by his undone hair. "They had tempted me to join because our goals once aligned - to kill Alucard. Back then, I saw Alucard as nothing more but a child-like entity inside of a powerful body. It sickened me to my core that something like that existed. Their invitation was extended over the decades, giving me a lot of time to think about it. But as time passed by, my decision began to shift because of something.

"And that something, was a display of Alucard's humanity and maturity. His interactions with Aphrodite made me see something I never usually see in him… peace. Alucard was usually restless, arrogant and juvenile. He acted like a troll and nothing befitting of Dracula, but that's when I learned of his deepest secret. After that, every animosity started to dwindle down and I came to see him as a friend. Everything would then be reinforced when I saw his face during the time his daughter had just been born. That is why, I refused to ally with Millennium. I am a friend first, a butler second, and a vampire hunter last!"

Walter clenched his fists, his wires coming up from behind Walter and wrapped around his chest, cutting deep. Hazel cried in agony and fell to his knees, struggling to get rid off the annoying strings around him.

The bespectacled butler pushed himself up, a victorious smirk on his lips. "So, my theory was correct. There was something boggling me when you explained your Semblance until I figured it out. You can numb yourself, but only to pains that you can see that coming!"

Hazel gritted through the pain. "Impressive. But that will not help you!" He roared and managed to rip off the wires off his body, along with his upper clothing, leaving him topless.

Walter cocked an eyebrow as he saw Hazel pull out a pair of pure, raw Dust crystals. One fire, and the other lightning.

 _"What would he use them for? He has no weapon."_

The butler was in for a shock. Hazel grunted and stabbed the Dust crystals into his arms. His muscles began to grow larger, the veins within his arms, along with eyes, glowed. The even larger man roared, his voice now distorted. The roar was so loud, it caused the room to shake for a moment.

Hazel charged and slugged Walter, the force behind the punch more stronger than earlier. Giving him no time for reprieve, Hazel grabbed Walter by the neck and channeled the lighting from the Dust he had embedded to himself and shocked the butler.

Walter cried out in pain as electricity crackled through his bones, ebbing at his Aura. Hazel cocked back his fist as flames began to enshroud it. After an ungodly roar, he pummeled Walter by the stomach before ending it with a double hammer fist, creating a Walter-shaped hole, by a bit four feet.

Even though his opponent was unmoving, it did not hurt to make sure he would stay dead. Hazel clenched both of his fists and channeled both elements, gathering them into some sort of projectile. As he readied to unleash it, Hazel's eyes widened as something snagged his arms, making him lose his concentration.

He didn't need to guess what was restricting him. It was obvious, it was Walter's wires. And said owner was behind him, restraining him.

"How?" was Hazel's simple question.

Walter smirked but didn't give him an answer. Walter grunted and pulled back, forcing down the large man to his knees. Hazel growled and gripped onto one of the wires. He channeled lightning into his hand and conducted it through the wires.

Walter cried yet again at the electrifying feeling. Hazel quickly used this distraction and pulled in Walter. His fist ablaze, he backhanded Walter into his fellow Hellsing operatives.

The large man raised an eyebrow, as somethings bounced off his back. He turned to the sight of a flank of Hellsing men firing at him. Hazel grunted and redid his earlier attack. He released an ungodly roar and combined both lightning and fire into a beam, blasting it into the vampire hunters.

None had managed to react, and so, all of them were hit by the full brunt of the blast. The Hellsing operatives roared in agony as their skin began to melt, their entire bodies on fire. Hazel paid them no heed and went to continue his fight with Walter.

* * *

"Out of my way!"

Integra cut through the ghouls blocking her path and immediately put a bullet in their skull for good measure. The blonde was still looking for Lionheart with no success. The cowardly bastard had, somehow, managed to hide himself and it greatly irritated her.

Integra surveyed the field. Her men was starting to struggle against the seemingly endless onslaught of ghouls. She prayed that they would push through and claim victory over these heathens. Integra spotted someone hiding behind some fallen rubble and saw the unmistakable hair of Lionheart. Letting a feral grin appear across her face, she ran towards to the coward, announcing her intention.

"There you are, you pussy!"

Lionheart stupidly jumped out of his hiding spot and yelped as a bullet pierced through just above him. The traitorous headmaster yelped yet again as he blocked against Integra's saber, the blonde's fury evident in her face.

"You were like family to Hellsing, Lionheart. You were like an uncle to me! And you threw it all away to ensure your own survival?! You could've gone to us for help, you damned idiot!"

Lionheart pushed back Integra, and this time, went on on the offensive. "What could you and your forces have done for me, Integra?! Salem is unbeatable… she's untouchable! What she did to me, none of you could've helped!"

Integra swung around her blade and disarmed Lionheart. She whipped out her pistol and shot the lone claw, sending it out of its owner's range. Their eyes met, Integra's filled with confusion and a bit of sorrow.

"We could've tried! We had Alucard and Aphrodite, didn't we? They could have dealt with Salem had you just asked!"

The lion Faunus shook his head, acceptance being the only thing in his eyes. "No, Integra. There was nothing. Nothing you could've done! Salem wasn't even there physically to 'coerce' me. She stuck a Grimm Seer into my body, and it'll forcefully shutdown my nervous system if I so much as make one move against her."

...

...

...

"Now you're just being fucking ridiculous."

Integra threw her saber into the air and unloaded her gun on Lionheart. Despite only wielding one claw, he managed to block or slice through the bullets. But this was just a distraction. Integra tackled him down and caught her weapon. She repeatedly jabbed down her saber onto Lionheart, but the coward managed to keep evading on the last second.

Lionheart pushed off Integra and clumsily pushed himself up and would have run away, had Integra not caught him by the back of his neck. The blonde threw him overhead right into a wall, knocking Lionheart unconscious.

Integra turned her back on the man and swore as the status of her men was getting worse and worse. Before she could advance, a ghoul had managed to get the drop on her, pinning her down. Integra gritted her teeth as she struggled to get it off her. Quickly thinking, she drew her gun and popped off the ghoul's head, some splashing on her face.

Integra pushed off the headless corpse and helped herself up, only for Walter to be thrown right at her, knocking the both of them down into the ruins of the entrance. Walter coughed out a bit of blood and pushed himself off his charge, looking a bit worse for wear.

"Forgive me, Sir Integra. Hazel Rainart was a bit too much for me."

The old man extended his arms and helped Integra stand to her feet. The two of them looked in horror as their men had either been devoured… or converted into ghouls.

"M-my men… They've turned them into ghouls." Integra's words dripping with shock and fear.

Walter looked horrified at the fate his comrades had suffered. Despite their conversion, one of them reached out to the two, begging for release.

 **"pLEase! H-hELp uS!"**

Integra's body shook in uncontrollable rage. Her men were like an extended family. And to see them in such a state that broke her heart, and lit an even bigger fuse. She roared to the skies, cursing out Millennium.

"Damn you. Damn you, Millennium! First you killed Alucard, and now you turn my men into ghouls?! I will find you, I will slaughter you mercilessly while I record it so I can watch the video every night before I sleep! I swear it on the Hellsing name!"

Hazel led the newly made undead, his eyes boring into the two remaining people who opposed his master's will. His arms swirled with power, radiating from the Dust that still remained.

Integra cocked her gun and readied her saber. Walter cracked his neck and slipped into a stance as his wires sprung to life.

Before either side could make a move, however, the ceiling broke down. Large chunks of rubble started to fall down indiscriminately. Walter and Hazel acted. The former spread his wires around himself and Integra, the debris being sliced apart before it could even reach them. The latter opted for the more destructive route and blasted them to smithereens.

Much to either side's fortune, no one was injured. When the dust cleared, all raised their heads and looked at the now gaping hole above them, noticing something. They saw a figure, slowly descending into battlefield, their wings flapping.

It was Aphrodite.

The red-haired succubus floated down in front of Integra and Walter. No one made a move, completely still. Not even a speck of noise could be heard. Until a ghoul stupidly rushed in and tried to pounce Aphrodite.

She remained silent and backhands the ghoul, the force behind it smashing the poor fellow's head like a melon. The corpse fell down with a thump, the eyes of the other ghouls shaking. Hazel remained impassive, but he could not deny that he felt unnerved by the redhead's appearance.

Finally, Aphrodite spoke. And boy, is she furious.

"Where is Lionheart?

When no one gave her an answer, Aphrodite's form shifted into her "Devil Trigger" form and roared, sending out a shockwave that knocked everyone off their feet.

 **"WHERE IS THAT TRAITOROUS, LITTLE BASTARD?!"**

Hazel recovered and charged at the furious mother. He channeled the Dust in his left arm, infusing his hand with fire. He roared and cocked back his hand to pummel Aphrodite.

The succubus merely flicked her claw upward and sliced off Hazel's arm. The large man cried in pure agony and fell to his knees. He clutched the profusely bleeding stump, gritting his teeth. Aphrodite manipulated his blood, forming a large scythe.

Aphrodite silently plunged the scythe into Hazel's back, further increasing the agony. The redhead hefted him up and flung him towards the makeshift entrance that she created.

Hazel rolled around and stopped below a pillar. He groaned out loud, his vision starting to become hazy. The large man noticed a person come into his sight. Although everything was blurry, he could still very well recognize who it was.

"Watts?"

Arthur pulled out a torch and cauterized Hazel's wounds to prevent him from dying of blood loss. Luckily, the large man had his Semblance active this time.

"How unbecoming of you, Hazel. Failing your mission?" mocked Arthur as he slung Hazel's remaining arm over his shoulder.

"We would've won… had it not been for Aphrodite Nikos."

Arthur shook his head at the excuse and pulled out a device. With the push of a button, he and his comrade disappeared.

Aphrodite set her sights at the large mob of undead, her eyes blazing with anger. **"I won't repeat my question a fourth time. Where. Is. Lionheart?"** she hissed out threateningly.

The ghoul did not respond to her question. They roared and rushed at the redhead. Aphrodite cocked back her head, sneering at the ghouls.

 **"A poor choice of actions."**

Aphrodite rose her arm slowly, as if pushing something up. The ghouls stopped in their tracks as they started to gargle out something. They all fell to their knees as their blood gushed out from their eyes and mouth, following the motion of Aphrodite's arm.

Aphrodite pulled the crimson liquid to her side, the ghouls becoming abnormally pale. She tightly clenched her fist, the blood shaping into spears. She cocked a wicked grin on her lips and threw hand forward, the blood spears launching itselves into the ghouls. Aphrodite watched in glee as the ghouls were mowed down by their own blood.

"You know," spoke up Walter. "I just realized the connection of Aphrodite's and Pyrrha's Semblance. Aphrodite controls blood. And what does blood contain? Iron. And now Pyrrha's Semblance is Polarity. So, would this count as an evolution of inherited Semblance, or devolution?"

"Obviously evolution." Integra placed a cigar in her mouth, prompting Walter to light it. After a taking a huge puff, she continued. "There's a high probability that Pyrrha could also manipulate the iron in one's blood if she were to try it. Additionally, one of a vampire's abilities is Hemokinesis. Truthfully, I'm shocked Pyrrha hasn't used it. Ever."

Walter smirked in thought. "Well, she did always liked the challenge."

As the last of the ghouls were disposed, Aphrodite rose into the air, looking for Lionheart. She scoured the entire area, looking for her pray as she spoke in a mocking tone.

 **"Come out, come out, little lion. This little hyena is looking for you. I just want to talk~"**

Near by the entrance, trapped under a bunch of rubble, Lionheart coughed loudly, trying to desperately push off the rocks pinning him down. He didn't want to die n-

 **"There you are~"**

Too late.

Lionheart let out a yelp as Aphrodite dragged him out harshly. The redhead gave him a sadistic grin, while he settled for a nervous smile, sweat heavily dripping down his forehead.

"H-H-H-Hi, Aphrodite. W-W-What brings you here?"

 **"Oh, nothing much. I just have a bone to pick with you, YOU TWO-FACED, TRAITOROUS, BACKSTABBING, BASKETCASE , SON OF A BITCHY WHORE!"**

Lionheart's panic went into overdrive as he started to make up excuses.

"P-Please! Wait! Let me explain!"

He didn't the chance. Aphrodite threw him across the floor, ending up at the foot of the tree. Aphrodite sauntered over to the Faunus as slowly as possible, taking her time to reach him.

 **"There's no use in trying to drag yourself out of here, you little piece of shit! You were the one that snuck in Cinder and her bitches into Beacon, and in turn, helped kickstart the attack on said school, which then led to Alucard's death. And so, I'm here to kill you because you helped murder my hubby by proxy!"**

Every word that escaped her mouth dripped with venomous rage. Lionheart screamed like the coward he was, still ascertaining to himself that he was innocent. Having enough of his bullshit, Aphrodite stomped on Lionheart's face, slightly burying it into the floor.

She seized him by the collar of his shirt and harshly pulled him up, causing their eyes to meet. That would prove to be Lionheart's undoing. Aphrodite's eyes turned pure red, until the shape of a three-spiked pinwheel appeared.

 **"Time for you to drop dead."**

Lionheart let out a soundless scream as he was entrapped within Aphrodite's illusion.

* * *

Lionheart blinked, noticing that he was now in a different area. Earlier, he was in the Vault, now a second later he's...wherever he is.

The clueless traitor looked around him, seeing that he was in a barren wasteland… where every thing was colored red. What was even more jarring was the fact that there was a whole and full, albeit red, moon above. No one has ever seen the moon whole before, so this was a bit of news to him.

Lionheart swiveled around and noticed a large crowd of people were approaching his location. He narrowed his eyes to get a better look until they snapped wide opened was he recognized who they were.

The crowd was filled with the Huntsmen and Huntresses he had sent on suicide missions. They all bore murderous glares, armed to the teeth with very sharp weaponry.

Lionheart screamed and tried to make a move. Emphasis on tried. He made a noise of horror as he suddenly found himself strapped to a cross, his arms and legs chained up and bolted for good measure.

Behind him, Aphrodite materialized, a malicious grin on her lips.

 **"Liking the accommodations so far?"**

And she disappeared in a wisp of black smoke before Lionheart could utter a word. The crowd had gathered around the trapped Lionheart, who looked at everyone with terrified expressions. One of the Huntsmen stepped forward and spoke with a hollow and glitchy tone.

 **"YoU kIlLeD Us! nOW We wiLL kIll yOu!"**

"No! It wasn't my fault! The Grimm killed you, not me!" Even now, Lionheart continued to deny his sin, placing himself as the victim.

A Huntress walked forward, speaking in the same tone as her comrade.

 **"dOnT liE To uS! YOu fULly WeLL kNeW aBoUt thE dEtAILs of tHe mISSIons. yOu sEnt us TO OUR DEATHS! anD nOw We Will pAY YOu bACk, a thoUSAnd foLD!"**

As she said this, the others stepped forward, brandishing their weapons, serving to further frighten Lionheart. As a last ditch effort, he struggled against his restraints, but to no avail. Lionheart hyperventilated as the seemingly reanimated Hunters approached him, poised to attack. As they all pounced, Lionheart screamed to the heavens, closing his eyes.

* * *

Lionheart swayed, looking extremely pale. He would've fallen had it not been for Aphrodite's foot preventing him from keeling over. She kicked him back, slamming against the tree's roots. The redhead shook her head in mock disappointment.

 **"Tsk tsk. You really are such a letdown, Lionheart. I always advised you to never look in my eyes if we were to ever fight."** Her disappointment evaporated, replaced by sadistic gleam in her eyes. **"Now, I think it's time to put an to end to this."**

Aphrodite lifts her arm up, manipulating the blood inside of Lionheart, making it surge through his mouth and eyes. She lifts up the blood into the air creates five stakes out of it. With a devious grin that would make Alucard extremely hard, Aphrodite flicked her downward, causing the stakes to impale Lioneheart in the shoulders, chest, and most painful of all, the heart.

Lionheart feebly reached out to the redhead, his eyes soaked with tears as the pain echoed through his body. "Kill me… Please!"

Aphrodite obliged him. She called the stakes of blood to her side and fused it, shaping the liquid into a scythe. However, before she made the move to strike, she called Integra to join her. The blonde seemed to contemplate, before walking up to her sister in all but blood with a similar look of sadism.

The two tightly gripped the crimson scythe and ferociously grinned at Lionheart. They wordlessly swung the improvised weapon and decapitated Lionheart, his head sailing through the air before it fell down and rolled up to Walter.

The butler knelt down and looked at the head with pity. He shook his head in disappointment and stood up.

Aphrodite stared at the headless corpse and drew out its remaining blood, consuming the crimson liquid, getting the memories of the now late headmaster. She turned around to speak to Integra, but found her standing over the dead bodies of her men, mourning their passing. She wordlessly walked up to the blonde and placed a comforting hand over her shoulder.

Integra sighed and gave a grateful look to Aphrodite. "I expect to be informed of what was in Lionheart's memories, okay?"

Aphrodite nodded before yawning. She smacked her lips together before receding back into her human. "Yeah, but now the jetlag's catching up to me and I see some sleep. Timezone difference, and all."

Integra chuckled. "True. Let's get some shuteye, we've certainly earned it."

* * *

 **Somewhere in Animus**

In a quaint little village was a man with platinum-blond hair. He had blue eyes and the body of a soldier. He wore a black leather long coat, the symbol of a fox holding a knife emblazoned on the back. Underneath, he wore a simple muscle shirt, with dog tags around his neck. For leg-wear, he had skintight, white pants, black belts strapped around his waist and simple combat boots.

This man walked up to a two-story house, where in its front yard had a young, male teenager practicing some sword katas, having the same hair color and facial features as the man from earlier. He noticed said man approaching and came to greet him.

"Dad! You came home early."

The father chuckled and the ruffled the hair of his son before entrapping him in for a hug. "I was just out for a stroll, enjoying nature's beauty, ya know?" As they broke away, he asked his son a question. "Is Rose inside?"

The son shook his head negatively as he walked back to his sword, sheathing it. "No. Mom's out doing an errand, or something. By the way," he pulled out an envelope and offered it to his father. "this came for you in the mail earlier."

The older man took it and turned it around, seeing a skull symbol with the map of Remnant behind it. This caused the man to lightly frown, making his son concerned.

"Is something wrong, dad?"

"No… It's nothing, John. I'll be in my room if you need me."

With that, the father entered the house, leaving his son alone. Once he entered, he immediately walked up the stairs and into his room, which, of course, he and his wife share. He placed down the envelope on his desk and walked up to a family painting. It was him. His wife, Rose. And their son, John. He pulled it back, revealing a vault behind it.

He pressed his temple and the area below his ear, all on the right of his face, then spoke.

 **{** **Frequency code: 141.81. Access code: Mr. Lightning Bolt.** **}**

A computerized voice resonated in his ear, confirming the codes. **"ACCESS GRANTED. WELCOME: RAIDEN."**

The vault opened up, revealing a Murasama weapon, completely sheathed. Raiden looked at it with hints of sorrow, regret and joy. He took it out gingerly and unsheathed the sword, revealing it crimson red blade, arcs of electricity sparking. Raiden inspected the blade, noticing that it hasn't dulled.

Satisfied, he placed it back in its sheath with a satisfying click. He walked up to the envelope earlier and ripped it open, revealing a single parchment of paper. Raiden sat down and read through it quite quickly.

"So… You're all making your moves, huh? Joining the battle against this enemy James was telling me. Heh, I guess I should've expected it. You all tried to steer clear from the battlefield, and yet you guys keep on getting drawn to it like moths to a flame. But I can't fault you, considering I'm the same."

Raiden's eyes softened, his mind flashing to the dozens of brawls he participated in, something he kept secret from his family. He tossed away the letter and stood up, his mind now firm on his decision.

"I guess it's time I take up my sword again." A grin made it was on his lips as his eyes gained a tinge of red. "After all, it's not good to deny something that's apart of your nature."


	29. Uprising

**Not the proudest chapter I've done. It was an off-week for me, I suppose. Sorry.**

* * *

The Belladonna family plus Sun were walking along a long, continuous path as they conversed about Blake's school life.

"Eh. It was honesty great." she admitted. "Met a lot of people I could call a good friend. Even befriended Weiss."

"The former Schnee heiress?" inquired Kali.

Both Sun and Blake looked at the Belladonna matriarch in shock. "Wait, former heiress?" asked Sun. "But last we saw her, her father came to pick her up! And we didn't hear any news of this back in the central evac cente.r.."

Ghira grunted and crossed his arms. "Then it's possible he silenced the media before it could reach throughout the kingdoms to save his image. Though, it baffles me how it managed to air here, yet not in the main kingdoms."

Sun frowned and placed his hands behind his head. "It's like he's telling the Faunus, 'it doesn't who you are, whether you be my daughter, my son, or my wife, you're beneath me.'" This caused him to sigh, regret washing over him. "Man, now I feel bad for all the stuff I used to call her."

"I'm sure she took it in good nature, Sun." Blake assured the blond. "Weiss's time spent on Beacon chipped away at her cold exterior. Then her boyfriend appeared and what remained immediately melted."

Sun relaxed and smiled at Blake, whom promptly returned it. Before they could initiate a kiss, Ghira cleared his throat and gave a little warning.

"Don't get any funny ideas while I'm nearby. You two may be Hunters now, but the both of you are still young."

The couple blushed and nodded. An awkward silence loomed as they continued to venture towards their destination. A couple of more of trees passed, they finally arrived. Sun couldn't help but gawk at what the main base of operations of the White Fang looked like.

"That's White Fang HQ?!"

"Yep." was Blake simple answer

"But that looks like it was ripped straight out of some fairy tail or something! No wait. Now that I look at it, it honestly looks like that castle from that one amusement park, only it has darker colors."

Kali repressed a snort and instead jabbed a finger at her husband's direction. "This big lug right here would be the one responsible for that."

Ghira shouted in surprise at his wife revealing such sensitive information. Kali rolled her eyes at his over active reaction and just playfully smacked him on the arm.

"Well? Let's get going."

The four of them resumed their pace and in no time, was already at the front of the building. A Fang soldier was by the entrance, clearly on guard duty. He spotted his fellow Faunus and immediately saluted once he got a better look on who was approaching.

"Former High Leader Belladonna! It's been a long time since you've visited."

Ghira couldn't help but quirk his lips at the mention of his old title and placated the soldier. "At ease. I'm here on official business, invited by Sienna herself."

The soldier nodded. But before he could open the door for the them, it was opened up from inside and out stepped Fennec and Corsac Albain. The elder brother looked at the soldier and gave him a grateful nod.

"We will take it from here, Verde. Return to your post."

He saluted the Albain brothers and did as he was ordered. Fennec faced the Belladonna family and Sun and bowed.

"High Leader Khan is expecting you. She sent us to escort you to the throne room."

Sun resisted to make a joke and managed to not convey his thoughts. "Wow, they really have it all, huh?"

Corsac widened the opening a bit more and gesture for the four to enter. "If you would follow us."

The Belladonna family and Sun followed the two Fox Faunus into the building. Sun looked at the interior designing of the place, and to his opinion, it seemed sort of extravagant, but not to overly. But like it says the person is worthy of respect.

Unbeknownst to them, a masked individual hid among the pillars, watching their every move. Their gaze then solely focused on Blake, hatred oozing out of them. The figure turned, then headed for the stairwell leading downwards.

* * *

The figure dove down, hiding behind a wall. They were in what seemed to be dungeon, containing rows upon rows of prisons, all occupied by Faunus. And who was guarding them? Faunus. About four. Obviously members of the White Fang. And this was just the first section.

They frowned at this and pulled out an empty Dust magazine. They peeked around the corner and aimed it behind a rock, which was where a Fang guard was standing. The intruder threw the empty magazine and it made enough noise to attract the guard's attention and turn away from their direction.

"What was that noise?" he muttered to himself.

The guard slowly approached the location of where he heard the sound, allowing the figure to rush in. They grabbed him by the head and shoved him into the wall, his head harshly bumping against it, knocking him out.

Unfortunately for them, this gained the other guard's attention. She slowly walked up to where they were, making them grit in teeth. They remained still, waiting the second guard's to come near. Once she was literally a step away, they grabbed the guard by the throat and threw her on the ground.

The figure drew out a cut piece of Lighting Dust and stabbed it into the guard's side. The masked individual slammed their other hand on the guard's lips, muffling her screams as she convulsed, some arcs of electricity sparking out her body. They drew out the Dust, making sure the guard was unconscious, besides the occasional twitching.

"Hey, where the hell is Tanner and Opal?" sounded off the third guard, eating a donut.

The figure stiffened, the last two guards were coming right at them, with the unconscious bodies of the first two guards in front of them. They bit down a curse and disappeared from view.

"How should I know? Do I look like their supervisor or something?!" snapped the fourth guard.

The third guard, who was a rabbit Faunus, raised their hands in mock surrender. "Geez, chill down, would you? I'm just asking. Guess that's why you're a snapping turtle."

"Ha ha. Seriously, just shut up and go back to your post. Or better yet, go look for them. We wouldn't want these traitors escap-"

The fourth guard was quickly cut off. The figure appeared behind him and grabbed hold of him in a deadlock, choking the light out of him. The goat Faunus was about to draw his gun until a blade was aimed at his partner's head.

"Don't move. Or his head is as good as shish kebab!"

"Don't worry, Bugs. Take the risk. I can take it!" assured the snapping turtle Faunus.

Bugs gritted his teeth, looking at his partner with concern. "You sure about this, Raph?"

"Sure as shark bait!"

Bugs's trembling hand hovered over his rifle, making the figure inch their blade closer to Raph's head as answer. Sweat dribbled down the rabbit Faunus's head, trying to make a decision.

His choice became clear as his hand shot out to reach for his radio. The figure, however, anticipated that and threw Raph at Bugs, knocking them both out.

The intruder grunted and approached one of the inmates, a dingo Faunus. "Did you finish your mission?"

"Tsk. What do you take us for? We've already planted the packages long before we were even caught. If calculations are right, they'll be activating in about a minute, tops."

"Good." The individual took off their mask, a grin on their lips. They slashed the locks, opening up the cell doors, allowing the prisoners to step out. "Come. Let us overthrow the Khan."

* * *

After a few more moments of admiring the beautiful piece of architecture that is this building, they finally arrived at the entrance of the throne room. The Albain brothers pushed open the door and announced their arrival.

"High Leader Khan! We've successfully escorted the Belladonna family."

There sat on the throne was Sienna Khan. She had a dark complexion, orange eyes, wild black hair, extra pair of tiger ears on the head and numerous tiger stripes adorning her body. The High leader smiled, very much pleased. "Thank you." She stood up and waved them off. "You may leave us."

The brothers bowed before their leader and exited gracefully. Sun turned to Blake and whispered, "So, uh, do we bow to her?"

Unfortunately for him, Sienna heard him. But fortunately for him, she took it in good nature. "There is no need for bowing." She stepped down from her throne to approach the four. "Ghira. Kali. It has been quite some time since we've last talked."

"It was only two months ago, Sienna. You should really come visit us again to unwind and relax." said Kali.

Sienna gave her friend a small smile and nodded. "I'll try." She then turned to their daughter. "Blake. Welcome back to Menagerie. I dearly hope that you had enjoyed the last few days you've been here."

"No place like home." replied Blake.

Sienna smiled at that. She turned to face Sun and gave him an inquisitive, yet friendly, look. "And who might you be?"

"Sun Wukong." He made a sideways glance as shame washed over him. "And I was one of the fellow Faunus that Taurus had wounded."

And as proof, he turned around to show her his bionic tail. Sienna could only release a sigh as shame also overcame her.

"Where did I go wrong with Adam? He used to be such an ambitious child, full of promise and hope for our kind. And now, he has fallen more than anyone should. Like any other man, he let the power get to him."

"No one could have ever seen it coming, Sienna." comforted Ghira. "You must not blame yourself."

Sienna sighed. "You're right. In any case, you came here for the documentations regarding the traitors that still follow Taurus' rule, correct?"

Ghira nodded. The High Leader snapped her finger and a Fang soldier walked up to her, carrying a stack of folders. He handed them over to her, bowed and walked out. Sienna skimmed through the files, making sure they were the proper ones before giving them to Ghira. The former High Leader opened up the first file and began reading.

"The files details all of the raids that Taurus personally led, the losses he sustained, the things he had gained, how he got them, and as well as the propaganda he had spread throughout Vale. I was lucky that I had managed to retain at least four loyal soldiers, out of the hundreds that stayed with him."

As Sienna spoke, her tone started to fill up with grief. Although she had taken a more violent approach as contrast to Ghira's peaceful method, she had never intended for things to go this far.

The more Ghira read through the files, the more angry he became. He had distributed the other files to his wife, daughter and Sun, allowing them to read what he had read.

* * *

Corsac's ears twitched, hearing something. His gaze met with his brother, who gestured to say he heard it as well. The two of them gathered about five Fang soldiers to accompany them to investigate the sound.

Eventually, they were led to the central area. By now, everyone could hear what that something is. However, they couldn't pinpoint just what it was. Fennec made a hand motion, gesturing for them to split up.

"Spread out. Look for where that sound is coming from."

The seven of them separated, checking every nook and cranny the could possibly look at it in order to discover the source of the sound. A canine Faunus noticed something was off about the chandelier. He aimed at the rope pulling it up and tore it in one shot.

The chandelier dropped, causing the others to jump in surprise. One of his comrades walked up to him, an inquisitive glare on his face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Cream?"

Before he could respond, they heard the sound get louder, and much to Cream's ego boost, it was coming from the shattered chandelier. They gently parted the broken glass to uncover whatever was making that noise.

Cream was the one to do it, pulling out something rectangular, strewn with wires, was beeping and it had a timer counting down. The Albain brothers paled, fully recognizing what he was holding.

"C4! Get down!"

None had managed to react in time as the timer hit zero. Corsac and Fennec were launched across separate pillars, while only one of the soldiers they had gathered had survived, his body skidding across the floor.

From the main entrance, a bunch of Fang soldiers came barging in, immediately firing their guns. The Albain brothers his behind the pillar while the soldier that had survived was shredded down.

"Damn! An uprising?!" exclaimed Corsac.

Fennec peaked behind the pillar before quickly pulling it back, narrowly dodging a bullet. "We must alert the others, and most importantly, High Leader Khan!"

"A sound plan."

Before any of them could make a move, another explosion ripped through the room, knocking them off their balance.

"Another explosive?!" Fennec seemed shocked, yet livid.

His brother quickly rushed to assist him, slinging his arm over his shoulder. "No time to waste. We must make haste and reach the throne room."

* * *

Ghira closed the thick folder, the sound echoing on the walls. By now, Kali had a horrified expression, while Sun and Blake remained apathetic, having anticipated what the reports would entail.

"Tell me, Sienna; Do you already have some of the traitors in your custody?"

Sienna nodded in confirmation. "Correct. Over a hundred of them being held in the dungeons below us, guarded by some of the most finest soldiers I've seen. It impossible for them to escape."

After she had said this, the five of them heard an explosion. The room began to quake violent in result from the explosion. Sienna reached for the radio in her sash and barked into it.

"Report! What the hell is happening?!"

It only took a second for the radio to crackle, the sound of gunfire and screaming the background as someone spoke.

 **{"High Leader! Someone released Taurus's supporters from their prisons and the traitors have launched staged an uprising against you!"}**

"What?!" shouted Sienna in complete surprise. The others in the background had the same reaction in a varying degree.

 **{"They've planted bombs in an earlier date, and are being set off at random. They're accompanied by these… leather-skinned humans and- *BOOM* Oh Oum. They're no humans… they're monsters! They're devouring our-! Oh G-"}**

And the soldier was completely cut off, only static remaining. Sienna stared at the radio and barked it. "Respond, what's going on?! Respond!"

When she received none, she gritted her teeth and threw the radio on the ground in frustration, letting out a string of curse words. Ghira approached Sienna and placed a hand over shoulder in an effort to comfort her.

"Calm yourself, Sienna. We have a fight coming in our hands. And we must prepare."

Sienna looked at the large man and saw the look in his eyes. He did not want to fight his brethren and wanted to solve things peacefully, but now he was forced to fight against them. The High Leader sighed and straightened up.

"You're right." Sienna drew out her weapon, a chain whip with three blades attached to the end. She lashed it against the floor, releasing some pent up anger. "Let's give these traitorous bastards a warm welcome."

* * *

The doors to the throne room were blasted open, launching back the Albain brothers, sustaining some burns all over their bodies, along with some fresh slash wounds. White Fang traitors, and much to Sun's and Blake's shock, Millennium soldiers stepped into the throne room, led by-

"Illia?!" shouted Blake in horror.

The chameleon Faunus regarded Blake for a moment before switching her attention to Sienna.

"Your time has come, Sienna Khan."

Sienna narrowed her eyes in anger and bared out her fangs. "I should have known you were the ones to free these traitors. You always tried your best to cling on Taurus whenever Blake wasn't around and was quite insistent that you transfer along them to Vale, but you were denied. Is that what this all is? Pretty vengeance for your lost beloved?"

Illia cocked her head, her face remaining passive. "You misunderstand my feelings towards Adam, Sienna. I harbor no love for him. Admiration, yes. But not love. And what we do, is to follow Adam's example. You are no longer fit to lead."

Ghira looked at Sienna and asked, "What do we do, Sienna?"

The High Leader tightly clenched her fist before rage overrode her senses and she pointed at the group of former White Fang soldiers and barked out her judgement.

"As the current High Leader of the White Fang, I judge you all as guilty of high treason, abetting and aiding numerous criminals, and revolting against my rule. You are all hereby sentenced to death, immediately!"

Ghira and Kali hung their heads low before a look of determination appeared in their eyes. Blake and Sun stepped forward, brandishing their weapons, glaring at the enemy.

Illia drew out her weapon, which was a whip as well. She lashed it against the floor and whipped it into the direction of the five, ordering the traitors and ghouls to start attacking.

Sienna made the first move and launched her chain whip at one of the many traitors. It wrapped around his neck, choking him. Sienna spun it around her leg and pushed back the chain harshly, snapping the man's neck.

Sienna back flipped and twirled around her chain around, blocking the bullets raining on her. She ducked behind a pillar to catch her breath.

Getting an idea, she ran across the pillar and used it as a stepping stone to launch herself into the air. Sienna launched her whip and wrapped it around one of the traitors' gun. She pulled it out of his hands and used it to knock him unconscious.

Sienna landed down and rushed towards five separate rebels. She sliced through one's gunfire and sliced their gun in half. The High Leader tripped him and stabbed him in the back. Quickly retrieving her blade, she danced through the bullets, evading them gracefully.

The feline detached one of her blade and threw it to the rebels. One of them smacked it down, causing it impale the ground and prepared to start firing again. However, the blade was infused with Dust. The blade exploded, blowing off their legs and/or arms.

The High Leader came under fire yet again, making her growl. She twirled around her blade, blocking the bullets with ease. When they ran out of bullets, she was quick to make her move. Sienna detached one of her blade again. This time, it had Ice Dust infused in it. The blade blew up in a cloud of mist, blocking the traitors' view.

Sienna got on all fours and growled, her pupils starting to dilate. The rebels tried to get rid of the mist, but to no avail. As this happened, Sienna became more… animal-like. As the mist finally cleared, the rebels looked on in fear as Sienna was no more, and in her place was a large tiger with a hungry look in her eyes.

The tiger gazed upon the rebels and let out a roar, making them scream in fear. This is Sienna's Semblance - Animality. Channeling one's inner animal spirit.

The traitors screamed and pulled their triggers. Thanks to her new form's speed, Sienna breezed through the bullets with ease and reached them in no time. She pounced one of the traitors and bit into her neck, drawing blood. She didn't stop and started gnawing until there was nothing to connect the head to the body.

The others watched in horror as blood dripped from Sienna's maw, their comrade's head in her mouth. Sienna slowly turned to the rebels and spat out the head, baring her bloodstained fangs. She roared and pounced on another victim.

No mercy shown, no quarter given. That is, and always will be the fate of a traitor.

* * *

When one sees how Kali Belladonna would normally act, their first interpretation that she is no fighter. That she is but a simple house wife.

Those fools would be dead wrong. As seven rebel soldiers circled around her, unsheathing their blades, Kali drew out her weapons from the sleeves. Steel Fans outfitted with sharp edges. She unfurled them and spun around into a pose, glaring at the traitors.

"Who's first?"

One volunteered by jumping at her. She tried to do an overhead strike, but Kali blocked it with a single fan. The Belladonna quickly bifurcated the traitor's arm before she could react and followed it up by slitting her throat.

Kali stared at the remaining traitors with a blank look, blood coating her face. She flicked off the blood on her weapons and charged forward. She swung around her fans, deflecting blades one after the other. She closed her fans and impaled one of them into a traitor trying to strike her from behind.

Kali ducked under two strikes that would've beheaded her. She kicked the two rebels by their shins and stabbed them in the gut. She pulled back and flipped over another set of beheading swings.

One rebel jumped after Kali and struck her down. He threw his sword at Kali, hoping to impale her. Unfortunately for him, Kali reacted swiftly and jumped out of the way, the sword embedded in the ground.

The rebel made the stupid decision of trying to wretch it out instead of going after Kali. The Belladonna matriarch jumped on his back, and he immediately tried to get her off. Kali gripped on to him tightly and started stabbing him repeatedly in the chest, before dragging it across. She kicked him down and ran towards the remaining two rebels.

The two did their best to attack her at the same time, but Kali was, unfortunately, able to block their attacks and retaliated swiftly, what they didn't expect was for her to redirect their attacks and forced them to stab each other.

Before they could register the pain, Kali decapitated the both of them, ending their misery. She dropped her fans unceremoniously and grieved the thought that she had to kill.

* * *

Ghira looked at the traitors in front of him and gave them all one last chance. "I do not wish to fight. Turn back now, before your blood is spilled by my hands."

One of the traitors shook his head. "Forgive us, Brother Belladonna, we cannot. We can no longer turn back for we have done many wrongs. If our fate is to die, then so be it."

The many rebels behind him agreed. As one, they brought out their weapons and slipped into a stance, steeling themselves to their fate.

"I see…" sorrowfully replied Ghira. But as quick as the sorrow came, it quickly disappeared, replaced with nothing but determination. "If that is the case, do not expect any mercy from me!"

They nodded in understanding and readied for battle. Ghira's claws extended, his muscles bulging and his eyes losing its pupils. He tore off his coat and let out a mighty roar, intimidating the lot.

Two of the rebels stood their ground and charged forward. Ghira punched the ground, knocking them off their balance and quickly zoomed towards them and caved in their faces, launching them straight into the wall.

Being knocked into their senses, those holding guns unloaded on Ghira, forgetting that he had Aura. Ghira rushed towards the traitors, ignoring the bullets bouncing off him. When he reached them, first thing he did was crush them in a back breaker, all at once.

Ghira grunted, realizing that someone had just impale him on the shoulder blade. He craned his neck and saw the assailant, looking hesitant yet determined. Ghira dropped the Faunus he had paralyzed and moved on to his next victim.

Before he could even move, Ghira grabbed the assailant by the neck and broke his neck. He set down the dead body and looked at the remaining rebels with a fierce glare. All but one charged at the large man, raising their blades.

Ghira evaded their strikes and pummeled the ground, knocking them off their balance. He quickly charged in and grabbed two by their necks and snapped it. He dropped them and moved on to the next one.

Ghira gripped the third one's blade and shattered it. Despite this, the rebel didn't give up and still tried to impale it. The Belladonna patriarch grabbed his wrist and redirected it right into his heart.

Now, there was only one rebel that he had to face.

"I never thought we would face under these circumstances, Ghira."

"...Yes. I had thought the same, Kalo. Out of everyone, I never thought you would be capable of treason."

The big muscled man looked down, shame and regret oozing out of him. "Yes, well when one's family is held at gunpoint, you are coerced into obedience. And besides, they're gone without so much as a trace."

Ghira looked at his old friend in sympathy. "I… would not know how to feel if were in your place. But if they have no more leverage against you, then why continue to fight for traitors?"

"Because I have nothing to lose anymore!" Kalo shouted out, tears streaming down his face. "What more could I lose, besides my pride. I have nothing anymore, Ghira. So please, give me a death most befitting for a traitor."

The feline Faunus clenched his fist, his eyes closed in anger. Not at his old friend, but at the people who had forced him into this. Ghira opened his eyes, looking at Kalo with nothing but sorrow.

"If you're sure, then come on!"

The two charged at each other and clashed fists at blinding speed. The force behind their attacks were so strong, it caused ripples in the air. Ghira had managed to gain the upper hand and slugged Kalo. He grabbed him by the waist and did a suplex. Then he followed it up with a swift kick to the jaw, sending him skidding back.

Ghira rushed forward, but had not anticipated Kalo to plant a palm thrust to his chest, making him stumble. Kalo smashed the palms of his hands on Ghira's face. He then grabbed his head and slammed it down on the floor, causing the feline Faunus to bounce. Kalo took advantage of this and slammed him into the wall.

Ghira groaned, pulling himself out of the wrecked stone. He wiped off the blood staining his lips and looked at his opponent. Ghira grabbed hold of Sienna's throne and threw it at Kalo. He smashed it to pieces, but it served its purpose as Ghira had moved while Kalo was distracted, tackling him down.

The two had a scuffle, trying to get on top, until Ghira won. He landed blow after blow on his old friend, remorse starting to show. Ghira grabbed him and headbutted his face, blood spewing out. He continued, until Kalo was bloodied and bruised.

"Did it really have to be this way?" asked Ghira.

"Yes…This is the price I must pay for my actions. I, no longer have any regrets. Deal the killing blow, Ghira. End it, so I can see them again."

Ghira nodded in understanding. He grabbed Kalo by the face and abruptly moved it to the side, breaking his neck. Kalo breath his last bit of air, as the life in his eyes faded. Ghira moved his hand over his eyes and closed them as his last sign of respect.

"I hope you find peace in the after life, old friend."

* * *

While the adults handled the traitors, Sun went to confront the soldiers of Millennium. The blond joined his gun-chucks into its staff form and wildly spun it around, blocking the bullets. He jumped and threw his staff into one of the ghouls. It bounced off and slammed into his comrade to the right.

Sun dropped down and caught his staff. He whacked down three ghouls into the ground, knocking their heads, before detaching his weapon back into its gun-chucks form and disarmed, and that is meant to be taken literally, five ghouls. He literally took off their arms by wrapping his gun-chucks around it the pulling back.

But this didn't deter the ghouls. Even with no arms, they remained persistent. They dog piled on Sun, trying to gnaw on his flesh. Sun grunted as he struggled to get them off. The blond calmed himself and channeled his Aura around his body.

In a burst of yellow light, three apparitions of Sun appeared and threw the ghouls off of him. The light constructs charged at the squad of ghouls to Sun's six and blew up, taking the ghouls along with them.

Sun panted, feeling tired from spending his Aura to use his Semblance. "Man, I need some rest."

* * *

Blake flipped back, dodging Illia's lash for the umpteenth time. She took a few potshots at her former friend, who just blocked them all with ease. Blake shifted back Gambol Shroud into its sword form and clashed with the chameleon Faunus.

"Why are you doing this, Illia?! You were never one for violence!"

"Experience can change people, Blake. You should know that the best."

Illia pulled back and whipped Blake's hand, forcing her to drop her weapon. She quickly moved in and repeatedly lashed Blake, from her stomach, to her face, to her arms and legs before ending it with an uppercut that sent the Belladonna daughter flying.

Illia extended her whip and lashed it Blake, but she caught it, surprising Illia. Blake pulled her in and kicked her right in the face. Blake back flipped to compose herself, still holding on to the whip. She tossed it aside and brought her fists, engaging a combat stance. Illia stood up, wiping her lips. She grunted and copied Blake's motion.

The two stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Illia dashed forward and threw a punch, only for Blake to block and jab her in the stomach. She followed it up with a spinning kick, making Illia stumble.

Blake quickly rushed in and delivered consecutive punches to Illia before she could recover, ending it with a spinning backhand. Illia caught Blake's arm and elbowed her in the cheek before headbutting her.

Blake held her head, trying to shake out the cobwebs but Illia didn't give her the luxury to recover. The freckled female jumped on her friend and kicked her in the throat. She followed it up with a barrages of consecutive jabs to the stomach, ending it with a strike to the shoulder.

Illia went for another kick, but Blake blocked it and retaliated with her own. The two of them spent the next few minutes canceling each other's moves, doing the same attack. Blake spotted an opening and ducked, quickly going for a leg take-down.

Blake straddled Illia and prepared to attack, only for Illia to reverse the situation. She repeatedly pummel Blake's face to the point she got tired. Blake took this opportunity and headbutted her again. Before Illia could pull back, Blake grabbed hold of her wrist and dislocated her finger. The Belladonna daughter kicked off her former friend, panting.

"This isn't you, Ilia! Following Adam isn't the right path!"

Illia pretended to not hear it and focused more on snapping her finger back in place. She glared at Blake and wiped the bloodstain on her lips. With a heavy sigh, Blake slipped back into her stance and reengaged with Illia.

The two were just slugging each other halfheartedly, barely putting any sort of effort in their hits. They were bruised, beaten, and tired. The two walked to each other slowly and cocked back their fists for one, seemingly, final attack.

Blake managed to avoid Illia's strike and planted a punch straight on Illia's cheek, sending her down, face first. Blake panted, looking around to see that they had won. Blake couldn't help but let a smile cross her face, but it immediately turned sober.

They had killed their fellow brethren. Sure, they were traitors but the thought remained. Was this all really necessary?

Blake sighed and tried to stand up, but exhaustion finally caught up to her. She fell to her knees. She tried to once again, only to fail, and this time, fall. Luckily, Sun had caught her, having her lean against him.

"It's okay, Blake. You go ahead and rest."

Blake obliged Sun's request and closed her eyes, waiting slumber. Ghira, Kali and Sienna walked up to them, bearing the same expressions.

"This is a sorrowful day for the White Fang. I had hope that I would have been able to convince them, but it seems I they remained firm on their stance." spoke Sienna.

White Fang soldiers walked in, some of them sustaining wounds. Sienna stepped forward.

"Escort the wounded out and gather what supplies and armaments we have remaining. I want everyone out by nightfall. This place has become too damaged and too dangerous for us to use. We will burn it down and find a new place to call our home away from home."

The soldiers saluted Sienna and carried out their orders. The High Leader let out a sigh and faced Kali.

"If it's alright with you, Kali. I need a place to say for the moment."

Kali smiled and nodded. "Nothing to worry, Sienna. You're always welcome in our home."

"Hey, uh, not to ruin the mood or anything. But where's the chameleon girl?" asked Sun.

True to his words, Illia was nowhere to be seen, having just vanished in thin air. Ghira frowned, worry creeping up his face.

"Oh dear."

* * *

In a boat that was slowly leaving Menagerie, there were two soldiers of Millennium, doing a head count on some captives as they discussed the event that had just transpired.

"We've exactly 46 Faunus subjects, ready to be converted. The fools, thinking that we were on the same side, that we had the same goal." He sneered at the unconscious Faunus, all locked up in cages.

The ghoul pushed his spectacles. "Agreed. Ultimately, they were nothing but sheep to be herded to the slaughter. Naive children that are easily tricked."

"Indeed. And how fares the chameleon?"

"While Herr Doktor would've preferred an octopus Faunus, I think he'll be okay with this chameleon. The Seer Serum our Fuhrer had given us had worked tremendously. Unfortunately, the effects had faded so she's currently unconscious."

The ghoul nodded in understanding."I see… To think, our magnificent Fuhrer had managed to conjure up such an idea! Disintegrating the Grimm Seer, mixing it with her influence, and some microscopic implants to easily control one's mind. Just brilliant!"

"Well, let's get some rest. It'll take us a fully day to reach Herr Merlot's island at the pace we are going."


	30. Sneaking Mission

The occupants of the helicopter ride have gone quiet. Weiss and Damien leaned on each other's shoulder, the two of them asleep. Ren and Nora were also asleep, the latter sitting on the former's lap. Jaune and Pyrrha were using the current state of their teammates to their advantage. Considering that they didn't need to sleep at times, they decided to use the time to have a make-out session in the far back.

Jaune ran his hands across Pyrrha's back as the two of them locked lips. Pyrrha let out a little moan, giving Jaune an opening to probe his tongue between her lips, asking permission for entrance.

Pyrrha wrapped her arms around his back, feeling herself get intoxicated by the kiss. She parted her lips, her own tongue meeting with his. Their tongues danced around each other, starting their hot and wet exchange of saliva.

The couple broke apart, a strong of saliva trailing their mouth. But Jaune wasn't done. The blond reached out for his lover's neck, peppering it with light kisses. Pyrrha released another moan, arching her back, giving Jaune more access to her soft skin.

Jaune parted his mouth and sunk his fang into her neck, biting into it gently. Pyrrha's moan started to get a bit loader, feeling the pleasure wash over her as Jaune sucked her blood. She had Jaune detach himself, a small strong of saliva and blood trailing from her neck.

Pyrrha released her hold on Jaune and gently cupped his cheeks. She pulled him and engaged in yet another passionate lip lock. Jaune tightened his embrace over his lover, to pull her in deeper for the kiss.

They soon parted, the need for oxygen becoming apparent as they lightly panted. The two of them looked at each other hazily, the heat and lust getting to their minds.

 **"...Okay, I don't mean to pry on you two lovebirds, but you two should get yourselves cleaned up. We're about to arrive at our destination, and the others are gonna wake up soon."**

The vampire couple looked away from each other as a tint of pink brushed their cheeks. They broke away from their embrace and moved to erase every trace of their little tryst. Once they were presentable, they quickly went back to their respective positions, cursing Morpho for interrupting them.

Soon after, the others stirred from their slumber, and let out a yawn. The loudspeaker inside blared, causing the four previously sleeping teens to fully awaken, any trace of drowsiness now gone.

 **"Alright, shortly arriving at the designated location. Strap yourselves up and get ready for landing."**

Everyone buckled in and gave Morpho the go ahead. The masked pilot maneuvered the copper, setting it down onto the coast. Once on land, everyone unfastened themselves and filed out.

"This...is it?" questioned Jaune with a bit of uncertainty.

Currently, they were at a beach area, a few coconut trees strewn around and a little pier at the far right. At the far left was a chain-link fence with a large sign saying, "KEEP OUT' in bold, red letters. On the other side of it was a path, leading to a forested area. The CODEC rang in Jaune's mind and he automatically accepted as Morpho's voice invaded his mind.

 **{** **That's right. This is the location as according to the coordinates Ms. Nikos has given me. I'll do a roundabout trip, circle around for a bit, see if I can find something. Be careful out there, Jaune.** **}**

 **{** **Roger that, Morpho.** **}**

The helicopter whirred back to life and took off, leaving the six of them alone. As they watched Morpho disappear in the distance, Nora asked the question on the everyone's minds.

"So… where to now?"

Jaune pointed at the fence, a little smirk on his face. "Well, where else to go but forward? Nora, if you'd please."

The ginger grinned and fired off a single grenade at the thing and blew it up to smithereens. Before Jaune could part his lips, he saw someone before they quickly vanished. The blond blinked and shook his head.

"Come on, everyone. Allons-y~"

* * *

 **Unknown Forest**

The young group had been exploring an hour, looking around the area with curiosity mixed with apprehension. They were currently in an unknown land with no sight of any sort of life for miles. Only thick growth of trees, grass, and a few moss here and there.

"I'm still unsure about this." voiced out Jaune. "So far, there's nothing really that's caught our attention or would look like it leads to the Grimm Lands." Seeing a clearing within his sights, Jaune suggested they take a quick break.

The six of them sat on some stones, either taking a drink and eating a few pieces of bread. The blond wiped his mouth clean of the crumbs on his face and looked at his mistress.

"Hey, Pyr. Mind looking through Cinder's memories again? Maybe there's a clue, other than the coordinates, that could help us out."

"Sure." she complied. "It won't take too long. Give me a few seconds."

Pyrrha closed her eyes and concentrated. It was pretty easy, given that she only had one soul inside her, barring her own. She probed at the late Cinder's memories, viewing through each one with a critical eye. A second later, her eyes opened, but had the tinge of disappointment.

"Nothing. There's nothing in that bitch's mind, Jaune. It's like her memories of it are erased as some sort of safety precaution." she spoke in irritation. Pyrrha ran her fingers through her hair, closing her eyes in shame. "The only consolation I can give is that we're in the right place."

The others sighed in annoyance. Not at Pyrrha, but at the fact that they can't seem to get any sort of progress for their mission.

"Hey, you kids seem to be a little lost."

Everyone quickly shot up and grabbed their weapons. They slipped into their respective stances, scanning the area for any sort of opponent. The hairs in their back rose up as the voice spoke again.

Right above them.

"Nice reflexes and reaction speed. If it was any other person, they would've been already shot dead."

They spun around looked at the tree branch above them and gasped in surprise, amazement and wonder at the person before them.

He was a cyborg, his exoskeleton armor primarily colored black. His overall appearance looked largely masculine, except for the feet resembling high heels and his hands possessing claws. On his back was a customized sheath, containing a sword. The only nothing non-bionic was his head, covered by a black visor.

It was Raiden.

"You're that ninja." exclaimed Jaune. Nonetheless, he didn't lower his stance. "Who are you?"

Raiden chuckled as his visor split open and receded into the side of his head. "For now? Neither enemy nor friend. Just a little guiding hand. Call me… Raiden."

Jaune narrowed down his eyes, as he tried to recall why the name seemed familiar. He tried to tug at every memory where fighting was about until he remembered about a man his Uncle told him about - from his brutality to his crazy swordplay, his bloodlust and his efficiency in completing missions.

"You're Jack the Ripper." blurted out the Arc Vampire.

Raiden let out a chuckle. Weiss, Ren and Damien all cocked an eyebrow, wondering why there was sorrow in his laughter.

"I guess Anderson told you the most horrifying thing about me, huh? Jack the Ripper - a title I obtained because of my high kill count during my tour as a soldier. And I was just 10 years old. But now it's a title associated with my skill with the blade."

Raiden drew out his weapon, the HF Murasama Blade and ran his fingers on the blade. The six looked at the marvellous weapon in awe, having never seen like it before. Raiden parted his mouth to say something, but he made no noise. He placed it back in its sheath and went back to his original objective.

"If the six of you are here way out here, then it means you're trying to find something, right?" When he received nothing but nods, Raiden smirked. "Well then, maybe I should direct your attention to something. Just pass by these woods is an old temple, converted into a military base. From the looks of it, they had a few Grimm running around, helping them out, guarding something huge. I thought I'd share it with you all."

"Grimm… working with people?" asked Damien, a baffled expression on his visage. "That's not right. The Grimm are just mindless beasts that hunt and kill. But, the only instance I've seen Grimm cooperate with someone is-"

Damien cut himself off as his eyes widened in realization. The others had the same reaction, coming to the same thought as the redheaded incubus. The six of them looked at each other in the eyes, saying the same thing.

"You don't think?"

Raiden chuckled at the expression the group had. He schooled his features and gave them a bit more info. "If it helps, they had a reverse Swastika symbol."

That confirmed their suspicions. There was only one organization that currently used such a symbol most commonly associated with Nazis.

"Millennium."

Raiden nodded. "You're all well informed." He turned around and gestured for them to follow. "Come on, I'll guide you to where it is."

The seven of them came to a halt on the edge of a cliff, overlooking another vast part of the jungle, mixed in with some bits of some sort of ruins. And just pass that was a large, slightly withered down temple, guarded by two soldiers.

Raiden directed their attention to the temple. "There it is. That's the place. If I were you all, I'd hide my weapons and go in light."

"What?" asked Nora in a slightly offended tone. "The six of us are very much powerhouses. I'm sure we can take them on and-"

"Risk alerting the entire base so you could get swarm by possibly hundreds, if not, thousands of enemy soldiers, along with an unknown number of Grimm until you all get overwhelmed." cut in Raiden, speaking in a rhetorical tone.

This made Nora back down, her skin turning a bit pale at the thought of getting outnumbered. The others had the same reaction, making it clear they had the same intentions as their ginger-haired friend.

Raiden chuckled and assured them it was okay. From his back, he pulled something out and tossed it to Jaune. The blond snapped out his shock and caught the item Raiden threw at him. He inspected it thoroughly and saw it was some sort of skintight outfit.

Jaune looked to his right, seeing the others receive similar outfits. Seeing as his friends were busy looking at the thing, Jaune asked the unasked question.

"What is this?"

"Modern sneaking suits. If you're all gonna be stealthy, you need the right gear for the job."

"Um, not to be rude, but you don't look the type to know things about this." said Weiss.

Raiden shrugged, seeing her point. He was a freaking cyborg for crying out loud. "True. But high above my skill in the sword is sneaking. Stealth's my specialty. Now, let me explain how the outfits work.

That sneaking suit is outfitted with a special type of cloth that allows it to blend in with its surroundings, perfect for infiltration mission. Its malleable, so you don't have to worry about being restricted of your movements and Kevlar is also sewed into it. Put them on, and I'll give you your next gear."

Raiden closed his visor and turned around, giving them some bit of privacy. Weiss dragged off Pyrrha and Nora back into the forest so they could get changed, while the males stayed, already taking off their current clothing.

Damien had no problem changing in the presence of other men, being somewhat of a deviant due to his innate incubus nature. Ren and Jaune were a little embarrassed, but kept silent as they resumed stripping.

Jaune made a punching and kicking motions, testing out his movement and found Raiden's earlier words to be true. Ren and Damien were copying their leader, already getting used to the suit.

A few seconds later, Weiss, Pyrrha and Nora walked out, suited up. Naturally, due to the suit being skintight, it very much highlighted their curves. Ren looked to the side, his cheeks rosy red. Damien unconsciously licked his lips, getting a bit jittery. Jaune had the most bold reaction, wolf whistling at his girlfriend, who had the decency to not meet his gaze.

Sensing them to be done, Raiden spun back and re-opened his visor. "Good. You're all done. Here," the blond cyborg pulled out a couple of belts with pouches attached to it and handed them over. "put these on."

The six of them complied and simply placed it over their waist. Raiden crossed his arms and lecture them of its use.

"Now that is just the standard utility belt, but with a twist - it has hammerspace, so you can put anything in that pouch and not run out of space. The only problem is, for some reasons I won't disclose to you, you need to pair it with the Sneaking Suit for it work. Put your battle gear and weapons in there for safe keeping. Next, are these."

Raiden knelt down and laid a plethora of handguns, all of them outfitted with a silencer. "Even if you're going in stealthy, you need a weapon just in case. You already have a knife equipped with the Sneaking Suit, but you need might need something with a bit more firepower."

The cyborg picked up the first pistol, which was a tranquilizer gun outfitted with a suppressor.

"Here, we have the Mk. 22 Custom. This model uses darts laced with venom that kills a person in seconds. I'm sure it'll work the same for those zombie freaks."

He placed it down and picked up the next two guns.

"Over here is the M1911A1 Custom. A large-caliber combat pistol. A perfect mixture of damage and accuracy. Next is the 6P9, a medium-caliber combat pistol. It's quite compact and easy to carry, so your sneaking doesn't get impeded. Another great thing about it is how the suppressor doesn't wear down."

The next gun he picked was a revolver with a scope attached to it.

"The M19. Pretty reliable, and has quite the massive knocking power. The downside is the large noise and its considerable recoil. So be careful when you use it."

He placed it down and grabbed the next gun, which seemed to be what the fusion of a machine gun and pistol would be.

"The C96. Full-auto, great firepower. Its disadvantage should be pretty obvious. - it doesn't have a suppressor, but it does make up for its rapid fire."

The last gun that he laid out looked similar to the Mk. 22, only it was a bit more wider and the handle was also a bit bigger.

"And lastly, the Mk. 23 SOCOM, or Special Operations Command Pistol. Man, this brings back great times. It's a .45 caliber pistol with plenty of stopping power outfitted with a Laser Aiming Module, so it's perfect if your shots aren't that accurate. Go ahead, and pick your guns."

The six of them looked at each other before nodding. Ren stepped up, being allowed to choose first. He gazed at the array of guns before picking the C96. Weiss went up next and chose the M1911A1 Custom. Nora grabbed the 6P9, needing something small. Damien chose the M19. Jaune and Pyrrha grabbed the last two guns, the Mk. 23 and the Mk. 22."

With nothing else to offer, Raiden stood to bid farewell to the group. "That's everything I can all offer you. You can contact me on CODEC if you need more advice. My frequency code is 141.81. Best of luck." Before he even reach ten steps-

"Wait!"

Raiden stopped in his tracks. He craned his neck, seeing Nora with her arm outstretched. The hammer maiden lowered her arm and gave the cyborg a smile.

"Why not come join us?"

Raiden chuckled and declined the offer. "Sorry, but I have my own mission that I need to do." He resumed his pace and offered a farewell salute to the group.

The six of them watched Raiden's figure slowly grow smaller and smaller as he disappeared from sight. Jaune turned to his friends and smiled.

"Well, what are we waiting for? A debriefing?"

"It wouldn't hurt to have one." commented Damien, allowing a coy smirk to overcome his lips. "Make things 'official', if you know what I mean."

Jaune saw the others agree, making him shake his head in slight exasperation. "Good grief. Alright, bring up your CODECs."

The six of them placed their fingers below their ear and fired up the CODEC.

 **{** **This will be a sneaking mission. Keep out of the enemy's sight and try not to waste your ammo. If we need more equipment, we'll have to procure them on sight by scavenging. If things get hairy, pair up with a partner and get out there ASAP.** **}**

 **{** **Roger!** **}** replied the others as one.

Jaune cocked his gun and pulled out the knife from his breast sheath. He looked at his two weapons, getting an idea. "Knife. Gun." He slammed the hilt of his knife onto the handle of his gun and took aim. "Knifegun!"

The others looked at Jaune with an incredulous look before following his motions. Jaune smirked. His eyes narrowed down becoming more sharper and serious.

"Commence Sneaking Mission. Now!"

Jaune surprised his friends as he bolted forward and dropped off the cliff. He grabbed alongside the cliff face, sliding towards the ground. The others looked at each other before mimicking the blond's actions.

They jumped off and landed softly on the ground. They aimed their guns at all directions, making sure no hostiles were in sight. Jaune turned his gaze to Pyrrha, asking her a question.

"Hey, Pyr. Is there a limit as to how far we can see with our vision?"

"I don't think so. As far as what Papa taught me, the vision of a vampire is comparable to night vision, thermal vision, infrared, binoculars, a sniper scope and HD quality all wrapped up in one. I never got to test the limits of mine, considering the need for it never arose."

Jaune nodded. "If that's the case then it's best if we act as lookout. I'll stay up front, you guard our rear."

She obliged, falling back to the end of the line. With their formation done, they swiftly moved through the trees, reaching the end of the forest in no time at all. Jaune's eyes slightly widened, spotting two incoming soldiers. He darted for a near-by rock formation, hiding behind it. His eyes locked with the others and they were quick to understand. They scattered, hiding in different locations. Pyrrha and Weiss climbed up a tree. Damien and Nora laid flat on the ground. Ren went and hid with his leader.

The six of them patiently waited for the soldiers to cross by as their Sneaking Suits did its magic, blending them in with their surroundings. The two soldiers stopped in their, scanning their surroundings. Jaune activated his CODEC, contacting Ren.

 **{** **On my signal, you get the one on the right, I'll get the one on the left.** **}**

 **{** **Okay, but do we knock them out? Or straight up kill them?** **}**

 **{** **Either one is alright, but the latter is the better option.** **}**

The two soldiers picked up their pace, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Once they passed by Damien and Nora, Jaune tapped by the shoulder.

"Now!" he shouted in a whisper.

Ren bolted straight up and tackled the soldier, putting him in a head lock. His comrade shouted in alarm, moving to release the safety on his gun.

"Enemy cont-"

He was interrupted as Jaune crept up behind him, kicking his shin. The ghoul dropped his gun and was forced into a choke-hold. Jaune blond gripped the ghoul's head and harshly moved it in a 360 degree spin. And just for good measure, he plunged the knife deep into the already dead man's neck, slitting it.

Jaune released his hold on the corpse, letting it fall down. He turned to his right to see Ren choke the life out of the soldier. He unceremoniously pushed down the body, causing it to fall next to his comrade.

The two of them crept up to the double dead corpses and rummaged through their bodies, looking for something useful. Luckily, they found a few clips of ammo and a pair of binoculars. But that was it.

Jaune clicked his tongue, but didn't display any further annoyance. He motioned for his friends and they pressed forward.

The group stepped into the first section of the ruins, and there yonder was the temple. Jaune scanned his surroundings, noticing multiple paths, with a chance of soldiers containing them. He swiveled and crouched down, his team following suit.

"Alright, there's about three paths that converge here - right, left and forward. I recommend we form pairs and split up."

Weiss nodded. "A good idea. But how will we determine our partners?" she questioned.

"Perhaps pair up with someone that covers your weakness?" Heads turned, looking at Ren. "For example - Nora is, no offense, a brute and usually uses explosive. So, she'll need someone that can cover her tracks, and is good with a gun."

"So, either you or Pyrrha?" asked Jaune. He strummed his chin and looked at his brother-from-another-mother and girlfriend. "Well, we need to stay professional, so Nora and Pyrrha should pair up."

Pyrrha bobbed her head in understanding while Nora pouted, but otherwise, didn't complain. Jaune hummed in thought, looking at the remaining three.

Weiss had her nimbleness and agility, but she lacked any sort stealth capabilities besides the sneaking suit she was currently wearing. Ren was the same as Weiss, but has stealth in his arsenal. He still wasn't sure about Damien's fully capabilities, besides his speed and acute senses, more superior than that of a Faunus. And he was the same as Pyrrha.

Jaune sighed, unknowingly relaxing his body. He looked up and locked eye with the three. "Alright. Ren, you're with Weiss. Damien, hope you don't mind, but you're with me."

The three made no sort of objections and complied. The first pair went to the left, the second pair went to the right, while the last one went straight forward.

* * *

Raiden walked alongside the beach, enjoying the cool breeze brushing against his face. He looked up, his gaze setting on a certain helicopter making its roundabout trip. The blond cyborg chuckled and sent a transmission to the helicopter's pilot.

 **{** **Raiden?!** **}**

 **{** **Morpho. It's been a while, huh?** **}**

 **{** **I'll say. I haven't seen you since Boss relieved you of your duties. So what's with the call? It's not just a greeting, is it?** **}**

 **{** **How perceptive of you. I need a ride, Morpho.** **}**

 **{** **Can't do that, Raiden. I'm the chauffeur of six teenagers. I can't just abandon them.** **}**

 **{** **They're about to head into a military base wherein crazy zombies and Grimm are guarding a portal to some place, Morpho. Take a guess where it leads it to.** **}**

 **{** **...I guess I get your point. But still, they'll need a ride. Ah what the hell? I owe you, anyway. I'll land this thing in ETA 3 minutes.** **}**

 **{** **Thanks, Morpho.** **}**

 **{** **No problem. By the way, where ARE you headed?** **}**

 **{** **To a soldier's paradise. Where we're treated as equals, not controlled by a governing body. A home away from home. A heaven where even demons can reside in.** **}**

 **{** **...So you're coming out of retirement? He heh heh heh. Those fools won't know what hit 'em.** **}**

* * *

 **Left Path - Pyrrha and Nora**

The two gingers walked slowly and carefully. Pyrrha was up front, while Nora was right behind her. They soon picked up their speed, walking a bit more faster, but not so much that it would cause noise.

Pyrrha held up her arm, stopping Nora. The Daughter of Dracula motioned for Nora to stay put, while she went on ahead. The hammer maiden obeyed. Pyrrha crouched down before laying flat on the ground. She crawled up to a fallen log, moss and vines covering it. She used it as cover and looked up ahead, using her vampiric vision.

From her spot, she had the advantage of being invisible. She spotted four enemy scouts. One hiding behind a tree. Two laying flat on the ground, covered by what seemed to be a gillie suit as they held their snipers. And the last one was right in front of-

Pyrrha ducked under the gunfire and would've broken into a sweat had she not already schooled her features. The redhead let out a soft sigh and remained clam, allowing the Sneaking Suit to do its objective.

The ghoul lowered his gun to recheck his environment. His radio blared, making him gulp in fear. He answered it and the voice of his superior loudly barked out.

 **{"The fuck do you think you're doing, Private?! Wasting ammo like that!"}**

The ghoul rubbed the back of his head, sweat dripping from his balaclava. "S-sorry, sir. I thought I saw something and fired on instinct."

 **{"That ain't no excuse, Private! Who knows what you could have done! Now stop daydreaming or else you'll find yourself in latrine duty for a fucking month!"}**

The Private gulped and broke into a salute, despite his superior not seeing it. "Y-Yessir!" Once his C.O. disconnected, he slumped down, patting his head. "I can't be imagining things."

That would be his last words as Pyrrha pulled him down and shot his head pointblank. The ghoul spazzed out for a moment before movement ceased, his eyes rolled over his head. She looked up and gave Nora the signal to move. The sloth lover quickly headed towards Pyrrha's location.

"So, what's the plan?" Nora asked in a soft tone.

Pyrrha peeked over the log. "There are three scouts hiding there, there and there." As she spoke, she pointed to their hiding spots, Nora looking pointedly at the directions and nodded. "Two of them are close to each other. We distract them with something, then take them out."

Nora nodded, but raised a question. "What do we distract them with? We only have what Raiden gave us."

This gave Pyrrha pause, considering Nora was right. She looked around, trying to see if she could use anything around her. Pyrrha's gaze fell onto the dead soldier, more specifically, the helmet and the gun.

"Well, that answers that question."

A sniper laying on the ground scoped out the area with laser focus, looking through his scope. He got unsettled as he heard something rattle right beside him.

"What was that?" he blurted out on instinct. He darted his eyes back and forth, trying to find that source of the noise he heard. His eyes noticed a patch of grass being pressed upon by something and crept up to it.

The second sniper noticed his comrade's movement. He was about to ask what the hell he was doing when he saw something roll right pass him. He pushed himself up and approached the object with caution. He raised an eyebrow at what he saw - just his comrade's helmet.

He was about to berate his comrade for horsing around until he got slugged with the butt of a rifle, shoving him down. He panicked and reached out for his gun, but a foot kicked it out of his reach. The same foot stomped down on his chest, making him wheeze out. He tried to alert his comrades but his life was ended swiftly with a shot to the head.

Nora looked over Pyrrha's position, seeing her dispatch her target by knocking him outcold, before shooting him in the back of the head. Pyrrha gestured for Nora to stay where she was while she dealt with the last soldier.

Pyrrha quietly crept up to the soldier hiding behind the tree. The guy frequently darted around his head to check his surroundings. The vampiress silently chuckled and holstered her gun. She lunged and grappled the man from behind. The ghoul grunted and dropped his gun in surprise. He struggled, clawing at Pyrrha's arms. The redhead grinned. She steadied her foot and threw him overhead, slamming him right into a tree.

The ghoul's body slid down the large oak, dead. From the trajectory that Pyrrha threw him and the force behind it, his neck was angled just enough for it to get snapped.

Nora ran up to the redhead and asked her if it was clear. Pyrrha scanned around once again, and found no hostiles.

"It's all good. Let's move out."

The two didn't bother to mask their presence anymore and started running.

* * *

 **Right Path - Weiss and Ren**

Ren looked up from his place, holding the binoculars. He zoomed in it to get a better look of the area. From what he could see, there were about five soldiers. And one of them was barring their path by standing in place and not making any sort of move. He didn't budge. At all.

Weiss peeked through the small hole, seeing the same thing Ren saw. She sighed and initiated a CODEC transmission.

 **{H** **ow are we gonna get pass this guy? He's standing still just like those decorative soldiers back in Vytal!** **}**

 **{** **We can't shoot him. I mean, yeah, we can kill him. But we might not have enough time to hide the body so his 'friends' don't get suspicious.** **}**

 **{** **We'll be stuck here for hours if we don't get a move on!** **}**

 **{** **Well, if you have any bright ideas, mind sharing them now?!** **}** Ren resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Weiss could get a bit bossy at times.

 **{** **I-I don't know! Hold him up from behind?!** **}**

For a moment, there was silence from Ren who seemed to contemplate on what Weiss said. **{** **Actually, that can work. My Semblance can probably mask our presence enough so we can sneak up on-** **}**

 **{** **AND WHY DID YOU JUST NOW THINK OF THIS?!** **}**

 **{** **...give me a break. I've used my Semblance for a total of TWO times. So FORGIVE ME for forgetting about it.** **}**

 **{** **Okay okay. No need to get so snappy.** **}**

Ren dropped the transmission and concentrated. He channeled his Aura though the ground, directing it towards Weiss. In an instant, Weiss was now 'invisible'. She pulled out her gun and approached the ghoul. Before she could react, the ghoul did so first, his head shooting up with an exclamation park appearing above him.

"I just heard footsteps!" the soldiers whispered to himself.

Weiss froze, not moving an inch. Ren raised an eyebrow, wondering why the white-haired girl wasn't moving. The former Schnee heiress snapped herself out of her funk and pointed the gun right in the ghoul's face and shouted in a whisper, "Freeze!"

Ren slammed his unoccupied hand to his face. Before he could internally voice out his displeasure, it actually worked. The soldier yelped out in horror and raised his hands in surrender before laying down his stomach and placed his hands behind his head. Ren's jaw dropped in surprise.

 _'T-That actually worked?!'_

Even Weiss couldn't believe it. She was staring agape at the soldier in pure disbelief. _'Is this guy stupid?!_ _'_ was what she thought.

Ren dropped his hold on his Semblance and walked up to Weiss. Again, surprisingly, the soldier didn't react to the footsteps and just stayed on the ground. The pair looked at each other uncertainly.

"Do we just leave him?" posed Weiss.

"I guess?" answered Ren, still uncertain. "My Semblance isn't even active and I just walked up to you like a normal person. I think we'll be fine. Come on."

The two of them pressed forward until they spotted two ghouls coming to their position. They crouched down and rolled behind a wall. Weiss saw Ren mouth out something to her. She narrowed her eyes, gesturing for him to say it again. This time, she understood what he was trying again.

Let's try holding them up again.

Weiss nodded and readied herself. Once the two passed by them, they jumped out of their positions and aimed the guns right at the back of their heads.

"Don't move!" growled out Ren and Weiss as once.

The ghouls yelped and did the same thing their comrade did. They got onto their stomach and laid in a defenseless position. Weiss looked down on the two and spoke her mind.

"These guys are idiots."

Ren could only nod in agreement. "Come on. Let's get a mo-"

"The enemy is attacking, going to alert status!"

The two of them turned around and saw a ghoul shouting out to his radio, the other ghoul standing beside him, aiming his gun right at them. Ren and Weiss ducked back into their spots.

 **{"Understood. Dispatching reinforcements. Proceed with extra caution."}**

The ghoul nodded and hefted up his gun. Ren and Weiss ducked back into their spots just as bullets started grazing the stone. Their hiding place remained firm as the ghouls continued to shoot at them. Two soldiers arrived as back up and joined in their comrades.

Ren gritted his teeth in annoyance at their misfortune. He looked over at where Weiss was and saw she had the same expression. He heard his CODEC ring and he answered.

 **{** **What do we do? We're pinned down and there's four of them!** **}**

 **{** **I don't know. We only have our pistols and knives and that's it. Zilch, nothing, zero, nada. We'll have to find some other way.** **}**

 **{** **Ugh. If we only had something to distract them with so we can move in for the kill.** **}**

 **{** **...hmm. It's a stretch, but there might be something we can use on those ghouls we held up. Do a body check on them, I'll keep the ones here distracted.** **}**

 **{** **Well, if you're sure, I'll do it.** **}**

The conversation was dropped. Ren bolted up from his position and opened fire on the four soldiers. Almost immediately, their attention solely focused on Ren. He ducked back, dodging the gun fire. He took a potshots from the corner, hoping to wound at least one of them.

With the distraction sprung, Weiss rushed back from where they came from. She stopped in her tracks once she saw the two ghouls. And they were still laying flat on their stomach. She sweatdropped at this but quickly refocused at the task at hand.

Weiss knelt down and patted the first ghoul, trying to find something of use. When she got nothing, she let out a growl of frustration and shot the ghoul. She moved onto the next one, and the results were the same.

The white-haired lady went to the last one, and surprise surprise, he was still there. Weiss knelt down and prepared to the do the body check.

"If I don't find what we need, I'm gonna freaking lose it."

She shot up in alarm, seeing the ghoul's arm shuffling below him. She aimed her gun right at him, but was certainly surprise as the ghoul pulled back and seemed to offer something to her.

"Here, this might be of assistance."

Weiss reluctantly accepted before she got a better look of what was given to her. A flash grenade. She pumped her arm in victory. "This is just what we needed!" She shot up and went to return into fray, leaving the ghoul behind.

"Thank you for sparing me!" called out the ghoul.

* * *

Ren grunted as he took a few more potshots from his location. Luckily, he managed to knock off the helmet of two of them. He ducked back, pulling out the magazine and replacing with a fresh one. He cocked his gun and prepared to fire until he spotted Weiss.

"Well?" he grunted out a midst the sounds of the bullets.

She responded by pulling the flash bang she obtained. Ren grinned and nodded. "Alright. Throw it!"

Weiss obliged. She pulled the pin and threw it at the ghouls. The four of them stopped shooting, looking at the thrown object in alarm.

"Grenade!"

Ren and Weiss ducked under and covered their ears. Once the bang died down, they sprung into action. The ghouls were disoriented, temporarily blinded and turned deaf. Ren and Weiss gunned them down till they keeled over, lying in their own pool of blood.

The two of them pulled out their magazines and reloaded their pistols. They rummaged through the bodies, searching for something useful. They found a ton of ammo, a few smoke grenades, and surprisingly, a bag of Doritos.

"Huh." was their only reaction as they stashed it away.

Once they were done, they pressed forward.

 **Center Path - Jaune and** **Damien**

"Are you kidding me?"

"I shit you not, dude. That's what actually happened."

"There's no way THAT'S how Pyrrha turned you into a vampire."

"Well, how DID you expect it?"

"Half-naked, wearing the sexiest and skimpiest lingerie she could have found with some melted chocolate and whip cream to sweeten the deal while having the greatest bedroom eyes she could have mustered to draw you in."

Jaune and Damien strolled through their path casually as they struck up a conversation. For some reasons they couldn't fathom, the guards patrolling the area didn't seem to notice them. They could talk freely and walk at a steady pace. Joke around in front of them. Hell, they even did a wedgie one of the guards and they still didn't bat an eye. They could have shot a gun, but they didn't wanna risk it and waste ammo.

And right now, they were talking about Jaune's transformation into a vampire.

"Well, now that you say it like that, I kinda wished that's what happened to me that night." he admitted.

Damien shrugged as he smacked a ghoul on the head upwards, and he had no reaction whatsoever. "Who knows? The universe is endless, after all. That scenario probably happened in an alternate timeline somewhere."

"Hrm. Great. Now I'm jealous of myself."

Damien chuckled out loud at Jaune's downtrodden expression of being jealous at his counterpart. In a matter of minutes, they reached the end of their path. The two were right at the steps leading up to the entrance of the temple. They decided to sit down on the first flight of steps and wait for the others.

Jaune smacked his lips together as the silence loomed over them. He kept quiet, trying to think of a topic to strike a conversation with the redheaded incubus. He looked over at Damien and spoke up.

"So… why Weiss?"

"Excuse me?" asked Damien. "Mind repeating the question? I think I may have misheard you."

Jaune nodded and said it again. "Out of all the people in Remnant, I was just wondering why did you choose Weiss? You probably met a lot of people in your time, but you settled on her. Why?"

Damien decided that the ground was interesting to look at as his eyes darkened. He mumbled something under his breath, something along the lines of not wanting to talk about it. Jaune knew when to not overstep his boundaries and decided not to press further.

A couple of minutes after, the others arrived. Pyrrha and Nora looked relatively unharmed and decent, a few twigs, vines and leaves strewn on their hair. Otherwise, they were fine.

Ren and Weiss, however, were caked head to toe with dirt and blood. Although they were not bothered by it considering the fact that they were munching on a bag of Doritos.

"What the hell happened to you two?" asked Jaune, completely thrown off by their appearance.

Ren shrugged as he shoved a fistful of chips into his mouth. "Triggered an alert and it went downhill from there. On the downside, we're down to our last clips of ammo. On the plus side," He and Weiss procured several other bags of chips. "We got you these."

They tossed the bags to the others, befuddled as to how they got them. But they decided not to complain. Free Doritos. The group of six walked up the steps, approaching a metal door. Jaune paused, spotting something besides the door - an ID scanner.

"You've gotta be kidding!" he exclaimed out loud. "It's ID locked and we don't have anyway to bypass it."

Pyrrha quirked an eyebrow and reminded Jaune of one of their abilities. "We have intangibility, Jaune. We can just phase through the door and open it from the inside."

The blond shook his head. "Too risky. If we do it, we might accidentally trip a sensor that'll alert the entire base. No, we need a key card." He crossed his arms, looking down in thought. "But where to start looking?"

"Let's try calling Raiden." suggested Nora. "He might know something."

"It's worth a shot." concurred Jaune. "I'll contact him."

He mentally brought up his CODEC, switching the frequency to the one Raiden gave them. A few rings later, Raiden's visual popped up.

 **{** **There something you need, Jaune?** **}**

 **{** **Yeah. You wouldn't happen to know where a key card is lying around, would you? We need one to open up the security gate.** **}**

 **{** **I see. If I remember correctly, one specific guard is in possession of the key card needed to get through the entrance. He should stick out in the open - look for someone wearing an orange jacket.** **}**

 **{** **Alright. Thanks, Raiden.** **}**

Jaune dropped the transmission and faced his team. "Let's backtrack to our path. Raiden said a guard wearing an orange jacket is in possession of the ID card we need. The four of you, stay put. Damien and I will take care of it."

The four of them nodded, obeying the blond's orders. The two of them stopped behind a large pillar laid down horizontally. Jaune peeked through the corner, scanning the soldiers in his sights. His gaze fell on one of the ghouls heading their way, wearing the orange jacket.

"He's heading towards here." He whispered to Damien. "I'll pull him in. You do the beating."

The two patiently behind the pillar, awaiting the ghoul guard to approach their location. Once the guard was in a reachable distance, Jaune grabbed him by the crook of his neck and pushed him right into Damien. The redhead swiftly struck his pressure points before delivering a slug to the face that broke his neck.

The body fell down in a slump on the pillar, allowing Jaune and Damien to search through the man's body. With no such luck, the ID card was not in this guard's possession. While Jaune continued searching, Damien poked his head out and looked around. He saw a guard crouch down to pick something up. And that something was the key card.

Damien slapped the palm of his hand on his face, feeling frustration. "This dumb fuck dropped his ID Card."

Jaune then copied the redhead's action. He contemplated on doing this stealthily, but considering that the guards didn't even acknowledge them earlier, what he was about to do was still possible. He drew out his SOCOM pistol and bolted up. He took aim and fired. Not on the guard, but on the key card. The card flew out of the guard's clutches, flipping towards Jaune. The blond caught in mid-air and smirked victoriously.

Damien blinked, impressed at what Jaune just did. He gave his praises to Jaune, who bashfully accepted them. They quickly moved out, heading back to the entrance before the guard could even react.

Jaune walked up to the scanner and dragged the card across it. It lit up, opening the door for them. The group of six stood up and quickly entered.

Everyone stopped in their tracks at the sight before them. Dozens upon dozens of soldiers patrolling the area, guarding some crates and some large containers covered up by a tarp. There were even more guards up on the catwalk, acting as sentries.

Pyrrha heard motion going on just above them, making her slightly nervous. She looked up and silently gasped. "A surveillance camera?"

The others whipped their heads at Pyrrha, right before following her sight's direction. They pushed themselves into the wall, letting the Sneaking Suit blend them in as to not get caught in the camera's field of vision.

This just got a whole lot harder.

 **To be continue** **d** **in the next chapter.**


	31. Encounter

**A quick announcement - There has been things that I've changed from the past chapters. It's not the complete list but more a general one:**

 **1\. Hedylogos has been renamed to Damien.**

 **2\. He was also given a slight foreshadowing.**

 **3\. Merlot is no longer the creator of the Steel Cogs.**

 **4\. A few scenes were deleted.**

 **5\. A few scenes were re-written.**

 **That's pretty much, really. And yes, I'm sorry for taking so long. School started last week and I'm sort of losing interest in writing. I dunno, guess I'm losing that spark?**

 **Read and review!**

* * *

Jaune could only gnash his teeth in anger, irritation and horror. He and his friends were hilariously outnumbered, outgunned, and they were backed into a corner.

And what made this worst is that the enemy didn't even know it.

Jaune leaned into the wall, controlling his breath. He needed to calm down and think of a plan to get them out of there. He peeked through the crate he hid behind, observing the movements of the ghouls and the surveillance camera, trying to figure out a hole in their cycle.

The blond changed positions, if only to get a better vantage point. He took a look again and noticed the soldiers making a slight pause to stop and look around for a brief moment. And just in luck for them, the tanks in display had just enough space for them crawl under it and hide. He nodded, slightly satisfied. He crept back up to his friends and explained his plan.

"Okay, I have good news and bad news. Good news, I have a plan. Bad news, I can't execute it. We need someone to cause a ruckus that will distract enemy long enough for us to move out."

"Well, what about Renny?" pointed out Nora. "He can make us invisible with his Semblance and we'll get out easily."

Jaune shook his head, shooting that down. "Too risky. We don't know the full capability of Ren's Semblance. We don't know its max distance, how much Aura it needs, or if it can be kept up with six people while on the move."

Weiss decided to speak up, remembering something that happened during the dance. "Wait a minute. Damien, can't you turn invisible? I distinctly remember you literally appearing out of thin air when we first met."

The incubus blinked, his face meeting the palm of his head. "How on Remnant did I forget that?" He shook his head, disappointed at himself. Damien focused and explained a bit of his ability, "I can make myself and another disappear, just as long as I'm touching them."

"Literally, the perfect thing to have if your kink is public sex." randomly blurted out Ren.

Everyone looked at him, incredulous and shocked that those words came out of his mouth. Ren gave no response and instead shrugged. Jaune shook out of his stupor, going back on topic.

"Ignoring that, think you can do it?"

Damien nodded. "It's doable. How should I do it?"

Jaune motioned for the redhead to follow him back to where he scouted momentarily. The blond directed Damien towards a guard patrolling on the railing.

"Make it seem like he tripped on the railing. Don't kill him, just knock him unconscious. Next," he pointed at two guards conversing by the elevator. "If those two don't move, knock 'em out and hide the between the containers. Ren, Weiss, the two of you head for the elevator and head down, see what you can find."

The two nodded, making Jaune nod as well. He turned back to the center and pointed to the large gate just below the railing. "Pyrrha, Nora, take advantage of the ruckus and head straight forward."

"Roger, Fearless Leader." said Nora while Pyrrha wordlessly nodded.

"Then that means you'll rendezvous with me and head upstairs then?" asked Damien.

Jaune nodded in confirmation and gazed back at the guards. He made a hand motion to Damien, signaling him that it was clear. The redhead disappeared from sight and carefully sneaked towards his objective.

The guards may not be able to see him, but that doesn't mean they can't hear him.

Damien quietly went up the stairs, feeling a bit of sweat drip down. He always figured himself as a straightforward sort of guy, so being sneaky isn't exactly is forte, making him nervous.

He successfully climbed up the stairs, his target within his sight. He crept up towards his back, making sure that not one person is heading towards his position. Damien momentarily dropped his invisibility and pushed the guard off the railing, causing him to fall onto a container before tumbling down onto the floor.

Almost immediately, the guards ran towards their fallen comrade. They crowded around him, asking him what happened as he pulled himself off the ground.

Pyrrha and Nora rushed out of their spots, heading for their designated area. Damien brought back up his invisibility and climbed down the railing, creeping up to the elevator. As he approached the two guards, he heard some bits of their conversation.

"Hey, you heard about our new VIP?" started off Mook #26

"Oh, you mean that Dr. Merlot guy? Yeah. I heard the Major and Herr Doktor's been scouting him out ever since they exchanged some things. From the looks of it, they're on a permanent partnership now." answered Mook #79.

This gave Damien pause as he heard the name. The incubus fell to his knees, starting to hyperventilate. His eyes began to dilate as his mind began flashing to painful memories that he experienced - The syringes, the probes, the frequent exposure to radiation.

Damien arched his back and let out a bloodcurdling scream as he was became visible to everyone, horror etched on his face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

All of the guards present snapped their heads to Damien. They forgot what just happened, only one thing on their mind - there was an intruder inside the base.

"Enemy close by!"

A loud alarm began to blare throughout the entirety of the base. Damien did not make any sort of reaction, he knelt in place, his face stuck in a horrified expression. Jaune bit down a curse, a bit peeved, but more concerned about Damien's current state of mind.

"I'll grab Damien and take the heat. The two of you, head for the elevator!"

The blond didn't even give them time to respond as he rushed into the fray. He fished out the smoke grenade he picked up earlier and threw it near by Damien. The container exploded in a large cloud of smoke, momentarily stunning the guards.

As they were distracted, Jaune grabbed Damien and dragged him out of the smoke, running towards the staircase. Some of the ghouls spotted them and opened fire. The blond ducked under a container, narrowly avoiding a hail of bullets, pulling down the unmoving incubus with him. In the corner of his eye, he saw Ren and Weiss rush out and head towards the elevator.

He focused back on his own situation. He looked around, trying to find a solution, until his sight fell on his belt.

 _'My shield!'_

Jaune pulled out his shield from his pouch and rushed towards the staircase. He raised his shield, effectively blocking the gun fire. He kept on dragging Damien, who was still unresponsive. They reached the next floor, the door locker. Luckily, the ID card he possessed had access to the floor they were in.

Unfortunately, however, the room he had entered was a small storage unit for weapons, cardboard boxes littered around. Jaune let out a jumble of curses. The enemy was nearing, and he needed a place to hide. Not being able to think of something, he contacted Raiden.

 **{Looks like you're in a pickle there, Jaune.}** Raiden smiled in amusement, finding Jaune's predicament a bit funny.

 **{Raiden! I need help. The enemy's coming and I don't have a place to hide! There's nothing but cardboard boxes here!}**

Raiden smiled, hearing those two certain words. **{** **A cardboard box? Well there's your hiding place.}**

 **{Wh- Are you serious? Stop joking around, Raiden! How's a cardboard box gonna be of any help?}**

 **{Hey, don't diss them, Jaune. That cardboard box has saved the lives of a lot of people during their missions.}**

 **{...really?}** Jaune looked flabbergasted and skeptical.

 **{Yeah. The cardboard box is ideal for fooling your enemies. It's a very important and the most perfect tool for infiltration missions, trust me. I didn't think the same it at first, but it helped me a lot back then, and I'm sure it'll help you now. Get in and stay still, it's foolproof.}**

 **{If you're sure...}**

Jaune terminated the transmission and walked up to a big enough cardboard box that can fit two people. He picked it up and hurriedly placed it over him and Damien. Jaune held his breath and stayed still.

He peeked through the hole on the box, seeing the doors slide open. Two pairs of guards burst in, looking around the room. They lowered their guns, noticing that no one was there. They shrugged and turned to leave.

Jaune let out a breathless sigh, relief dominating his face. It would then turn to horror as Damien took the time to gasped out loudly, regaining consciousness. Jaune slapped his hand over his mouth, cutting him off.

The ghouls turned back around, alarmed by the sudden noise. They carefully looked around, trying to see anything out of the ordinary. One of them spotted something twitch, making him aim his gun at it.

"What's that?" He slowly approached where the two was, making Jaune sweat nervously. The guard then realized what he was looking at and tilted his head, confused. "Huh. Just a box. Nothing here!"

A guard reported it to their C.O., whose voice blared out of the radio.

 **{"Understood. Proceed with extra caution!"}**

The four rogered their affirmatives and filed out of the room. Once the door closed, Jaune threw off the cardboard box, letting out a loud in relief. Damien cradled his head, looking a bit pale.

"What...happened?" He asked a bit slowly.

Jaune frowned at the redhead, reining his anger. "You freaked out, that's what happened. All of a sudden, you started screaming and blew your cover."

Damien flinched, hearing the blond's reprimanding tone. "I... I'm sorry. Those two, they brought up a name that I had hoped that I would never have to hear again. I've been hiding a secret that I've not yet confided with Weiss and Mother."

As he was about to utter his secret, Damien started to hyperventilate once more, experiencing another flashback. Jaune quickly wrapped his arms around the panicking redhead, attempting to calm him down.

"Calm down, Damien. You've nothing to fear. You're with a friend, there's no one to hurt you... Just calm down, it'll be alright."

Damien slumped forward, regaining his bearing. Jaune released his hold on the incubus, helping him lean against the wall. The blond lost all anger and it was replaced with concern.

"You don't have to force yourself, Damien. If it hurts to even mention, then let's just-"

"NO!" He interrupted. He shook his head, clarifying. "No, I've been keeping this to myself for so long. I... I need to say it, to at least one person."

Jaune placed a supportive hand over his shoulder, giving him a smile. "If you're sure."

Damien took in a few deep breaths, steeling himself for what he was about to tell Jaune. "Two centuries after I was separated from Mother, I was captured and tortured by religious fanatics. I was a demon, and they sought to punish me just for existing. About a decade later, I was freed by a woman. Do you want to guess who she was?"

Jaune crossed his arms in contemplation, thinking who it was that could have saved him. He shook his head, not having any clue, prompting Damien to continue.

"Her name was Snow White, one of the most beautiful maidens I've ever laid eyes upon. She was the daughter of the fanatics who captured me. She didn't share the same view as her parents and released me from my imprisonment. But I decided not to leave her, not yet anyway. Every once in a while, I would come visit her and be by her side. It wasn't long, until I've fallen for her and she to me."

Damien hung his head, his tone becoming filled with sorrow.

"Unfortunately, fate was not kind to me. Her parents found out and gathered the entire village to put my head on a pike. Snow spoke up against them, telling the village that I was not who I seemed. Her parents gave her an ultimatum - stand by them or stand against them. They tried their best to persuade her , and yet still, she chose me, proclaiming her love for me to the entire village."

The incubus choked down a sob, tears threatening to flow out.

"Her parents killed her that day, burning her right in the village square, declaring her a sinner. I couldn't take it. The amount of pain, the amount of abuse that I endured, now the woman I loved was killed before my very eyes. I snapped. I massacred the entire village and left no survivors."

He looked up and he could no longer keep it in. The dam broke as his tears freely streamed down his cheeks.

"Yet again, I was alone. It broke me so much, I badly wanted to kill myself, and I tried. I jumped off a cliff and drowned myself into the ocean. But once again, fate screwed me over. Instead of killing me, it forced my body into hibernation and I woke up to modern Remnant. I didn't even manage to integrate into society when I was captured by a man crueler than a monster. His name... it was Merlot."

At this point, Damien started shaking uncontrollably, the painful memories resurfacing. Jaune pulled him in for a brotherly hug, comforting him a bit. Once he was okay, he pulled back.

"He did so many unspeakable things to me - injecting my bloodstream with every sort of chemicals and liquids, exposing me to some types of radiation, amputating my arms, extracting samples of my DNA, pulling out some of my bones, and worst of all, grafting me with DNA of Grimm."

"What?" uttered Jaune in shock. "You...went through all of that horror? I can see now why you've kept it to yourself. But why did he even do all of that? What was the purpose?"

"That madman was also experimenting on Grimm, making them stronger compared to their regular selves. And he planned on using me to increase their strength."

Jaune grunted in displeasure. "Great. Just what the world needed. Another whack job scientist who thinks they can break the laws of nature. Getting back on topic, how did you escape?"

"The fool didn't know that he gave me an additional ability when he grafted my body with mutated Grimm DNA - I could communicate with them. I convinced them to help free me, and I would return someday to help them. I broke out and escaped by boat until I reached civilization. But the gap between my knowledge of my present to the modern world was wide. I didn't know what had changed and what remained. Luckily, I was able to copy the memories of others and assimilate it to mine. I had grabbed random civilians - one by one, until my mind had fully caught up."

Jaune nodded, soaking in everything Damien said. "I see." But there was one hole that had yet to be filled. "But how did you come across Beacon? There has to be a reason why you'd go there."

Damien sighed, giving his response. "There was indeed. One of the people I had dragged in, a Neptune Vassilas, if I recalled. He had memories regarding a certain someone, that almost made me hope it was her."

"Her?" blurted out Jaune. It didn't take him long to connect on who the female was, considering he had taken some memories from Neptune. "Weiss."

"Yes. When I first saw her through Neptune's memories, I was thoroughly surprised. It was like a ghost that came back to haunt me. But deep inside, I had hope that fate was finally kind to me. That my beloved was reincarnated so that we may be reunited."

The redhead released another sigh he didn't know he had been holding. He looked up at Jaune's eyes, looking serious.

"And that is my tale. I beg of you, Jaune. Please, do not speak a word of this to anyone. Not to Pyrrha. Not to Mother. And especially, not to Weiss. I'll be the one to share it to them when the time is right."

Jaune smiled, a look of understanding on his face. "Of course. It's your secret. Only you can decide who can know, and who can't." The blond stood up and offered his hand to Damien. "Now come on, we still have a mission to get to."

Damien smiled and tightly accepted the hand, pulling himself up. "Right. But we should see what's the status of the oth-"

The loud ringing of the CODEC cut off Damien. The redhead quirked an eyebrow, before shrugging. He and Jaune accepted the transmission, allowing it to patch through. Almost immediately, Weiss' worried voice came through.

 **{Jaune! Where's Damien?! Is he fine? How is he?!}**

 **{Don't worry, my precious Snow Diamond. I'm alright.}**

Weiss let out a deep sigh, relief washing over her. { **Oh thank Heavens.}**

 **{Is this a group transmission?}** asked Jaune.

 **{It should be. Nora and Pyrrha should be listening in.}** responded Ren.

 **{Good. Give us a status update.}**

 **{Nora and I are hiding inside of separate lockers. We wanted to wait until the alert had subsided before moving on.}**

 **{Understandable. What about you, Ren? How are you two on your end?}**

 **{Would you believe us if we told you we're in a high-speed express elevator?}**

 **"Wait what?"**

 **{Exactly our reaction. There's a sub-level beneath the entire base, and from what we can tell, it's deep down. Like at least fifty levels.}**

 **{I see... Be cautious and keep us posted.}**

With that, Ren and Weiss dropped their transmission, leaving the three gingers and blond.

 **{Pyrrha, you and Nora try to find a computer terminal and see if you can find anything related to the Grimm Lands. Don't do any unnecessary damages.}**

 **{You can count on us, Fearless Leader!}**

And then there were two. Jaune looked at Damien with slight worry, what the redhead said still ringing fresh in his mind.

 **{Are you alright to proceed?}**

 **{I'm fine, Jaune. I'm combat ready. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go back home.}**

Jaune and Damien hung up on each other. They stood up and prepared to move out, until Damien saw a key card lying on the ground. He picked it up in confusion before shrugging.

"One of the guards must've dropped it by mistake."

He then stashed it away. They quietly peeked out of the door, checking both sides to see if there were any oncoming guards. They quickly bolted out of the room and headed for the next entrance, a large iron door that required a key card to enter.

Jaune slid the key card he got outside, only for the keypad to blare red, denying him access.

"What? Damn! This guy must not have high enough clearance."

Damien pulled out the card they picked up earlier, handing it over to blond, suggesting they try it instead. Jaune scanned it over, and the door opened. The two entered the next room.

Jaune and Damien walked alongside the catwalk, being careful not to get caught. The two of them reached the end of the road and stared in shock at awe at the large amount of machines that laid before them. Ranging from exoskeletons, to battle gear, to androids and even mechas that look similar to the Iron Cog.

"Good Lord." breathed out Jaune. "Look at all of these weapons! You think this is where Millennium develops their equipment?"

"It's gotta be." the redhead responded back. "Look at those guns. It's the same models used back on their attempted invasion."

"So then that would mean that this facility is where they produce their weapons?" the blond concluded. His eyes narrowed, a smirk on his face. "If that's the case, if we don't find anything, we should blow this place up to kingdom come, make them defenseless."

Damien shook his head, disagreeing with the decision. "I think it'd be better if we just kill everyone in here instead and let the place intact. Just think how it would benefit the entirety of the world if we could reverse engineer the technology in here. Plus, the weapons here could give us a higher ground against them."

Jaune thought over what the redhead said and conceded to his point. "That is true. So new plan - either kill or knock out all of the soldiers here and basically take over this base. Alright, let's scope out the room and then formulate a strategy."

* * *

The elevator doors opened up. Weiss and Ren quickly ducked to the sides as a hail of bullets almost grazed them. The white-haired lady gritted her teeth. "Someone was waiting for us?" She moved to press the close button to avoid getting shot when-.

"Wait!" shouted Ren, making Weiss halt. Lie pulled out a mirror from his pouch and angled it so he could see the reflection of what was outside. There mounted on a surveillance camera was a turret. "As suspected."

Weiss saw the reflection as well and her brows shot up in surprise. "Is that-"

"Yes. A motion-activated sentry gun. Being attached to a camera, it probably has infrared too, so stealth's gonna be useless for this."

"Well, what can we do?" posed the white-haired lady. "Both of our guns aren't enough powerful enough to blow that thing up. Ugh. If only we had a spare chaff grenade."

Ren stashed away his mirror and cocked his head at Weiss. "What about casting a defensive Glyph? We could rush in while staying on the defensive to be safe."

The former heiress shook her head, looking unsure. "I've gotten rusty. It would probably take more time than it should for me to materialize it, and even then, I'm not sure if it can withstand a constant barrage of bullets."

A moment silence washed over them, trying to figure out how to proceed. That was until Ren broke the silence with a stupid idea.

"I'm gonna kick it."

Weiss sputtered in complete surprise at his idea. Not only was it dumb, it was also suicidal. "Wait, what?! That is a terrible idea!"

Ren shrugged as he slipped into a running stance. "Well too bad, cause I'm doing it."

He roared and charged out of the elevator. Ren moved too swift for the sentry to get a lock on, causing it leave a trail of bullets behind him. Ren ran up the wall and kicked himself of it. The gun didn't have time to react as Ren spun around and kicked it. He landed down as the remains of the sentry fell around him.

Weiss could only watch in shock, horror and irritation.

"Dear Oum, he actually kicked it."

Ren turned around, telling Weiss that it was clear. "Come on, Weiss! No time to waste, let's keep moving!"

Weiss snapped out of her state and walked in a brisk pace, muttering to herself. "Alright, I was cool with vampires and such actually being a thing. I was cool with the Four Seasonal Maidens existing. I was very much fine with getting an incubus as a lover! But that? That was incredibly stupid!"

The two of then reached the entrance to the next room. Unfortunately, they could not get it in. There was a keypad with a scanner. And they didn't have one.

Ren mumbled a curse under his breath. "Dammit. Jaune has the keycard, and we can't go back and search through every guard. It'll take forever."

Weiss tapped her chin. She took a look around, trying to find an alternative entrance. Her eyes landed upon a vent, just above a pile of cardboard boxes. She grabbed Ren by the sleeve to get his attention and pointed at her discovery.

"We can get in the vent and travel through the air ducts to find a way in to this room." suggested Weiss.

Ren thought it over and found no flaws. He agreed to it. He and Weiss climbed over the many boxes to reach the vent. The two of them pulled out their knives and worked on unscrewing the screen off.

Luckily for the two of them, the vents weren't as cramped as it seemed, giving them some breathing room although Weiss was a bit iffy because her breasts gave her less space to crawl.

" _So this is one of those disadvantages Winter was talking about."_ thought Weiss.

The duo crawled through the air ducts, trying to locate the room they had stumbled upon. They did their best to navigate through, seeing as the vents didn't have much light for them to see.

The two of them came across a lot of things. Some hilarious, like a ghoul dancing to the tune 'Shake It Off', and some horrifying, like a bunch of ghouls devouring a group of defenseless elderly.

Half an hour later, the two of them across vent screen showing rows upon rows of cells. Each and every one occupied. A single guard patrolled the area, occasionally slamming the butt of his rifle against the iron bars, earning him whimpering from the cells, making the guard laugh.

Ren and Weiss glared at the guard. The former noticed something in the corner of his eye and saw the same door he and Weiss were at earlier.

"Looks like this is it." He pulled out his knife and used it to unscrew the screen. He quietly plucked it off and set it beside him. "I'll go first."

Ren jumped down and landed softly, the guard not hearing him. His eyes fell on the cells and he couldn't help but let out a quiet gasp.

The occupants were children, a majority of them less than five years old with most sustaining bruises and covered in what looked like dried blood.

Ren struggled to control his emotions. Millennium had kidnapped children, taking them away from their parents. It all reminded him of the Nuckelavee. He shook his head, trying to rid of his thoughts in an effort to remain calm.

Weiss landed down right behind him and let out a horrified gasp, essentially having the same reaction as Ren. Lie pulled out his gun and riddled the guard's back with bullets. The guard fell down, but not yet dead. He feebly reached out to a button far out his reach but he was killed with a bullet to the head, courtesy of Weiss.

The two holstered back their gun and scanned the room for any signs of cameras or any sort of bug that could listen in on them. Luckily, the found none. Now, they were left to look at the imprisoned children, not knowing what to do.

Ren and Weiss sighed and reached out for their CODECs, calling Raiden.

 **{"Is there something you need?}**

Ren and Weiss debated who would be the one to speak, until Weiss gave the floor to Ren.

 **{We found something pretty disturbing. There's over a hundred children trapped under the Millennium base, and, well, we thought to contact you.}**

 **{Children?}** said Raiden in surprise. { **Are they child soldiers?}**

 **{Well, no. It's more like they're prisoners here. The abused kind if the blood and bruises on them is any indication.}**

 **{I see…}** One could the hear the solemness in his tone. { **I'll have a chat with my superiors, see if we can go there and get the kids. For now, stay with them. They'll need a pillar to lean on.}**

Raiden ceased his transmission. Ren and Weiss went to work in freeing the children. Most of them were unconscious, their breaths barely stable. Those who were awake however, were unresponsive. Their eyes were blank and glassy, as if their minds were broken.

The two of them tried their very best to get their attention - shaking them lightly, waving their hands in front of their faces, poking their bodies. But it all bore no fruit. They remained ignored.

And this terrified Ren and Weiss. What could Millennium have done to make them like this?

"We were all tortured." said a voice, her tone filled with scorn, sorrow and loneliness.

Ren and Weiss turned their head to the one the cell door they have yet to open. Imprisoned was probably the oldest of the children, looking to be at least twelve years old. She had lavender-colored hair, blank emerald green eyes and wore nothing but a dirty robe.

Ren approached the little kid, feeling nothing but concern and empathy. "What do you mean?"

"Half of us here used to live in a quaint little town… until three monsters came and attacked. They killed all of the adults and spared only us children. We couldn't even mourn because those Millennium guys locked us up, only letting us out for some sort of exercise. We couldn't disobey, or else they'd discipline us. And as you can see…it worked on some of the kids here. I don't know what they did, but they broke their minds."

Weiss walked up, getting close to the girl. "What about you? Are you still okay?" she softly asked.

The girl hugged herself, but her face remained impassive. "I'm only staying strong for the younger ones here. I've been through those 'disciplining' for at least six times now. One more, and I think I might crack. Some of the kids here cling on to me for hope, calling me their big sister. I'd be disappointing them if I show weakness."

"Don't worry." assured Ren. "We'll get you all out of here and help the children recover."

The girl stayed silent until she lowered her head, trying to hide her tears. Nonetheless, she uttered a weak 'thank you' to the duo.

* * *

A patrolling guard looked back and forth, making sure that no one would get through him. After a few more turning, he decided to move.

Unfortunately for him, he was pulled behind a crate by a pair of arms. The guard panicked and tried to escape, but the grip around him was tight. He tried to scream, but a hand slapped itself on his mouth.

Pyrrha let out a bone-chilling chuckle from behind the guard, making him sweat heavily. The redhead sunk her fangs into his neck, draining him of his blood while Nora watched. A few seconds later, Pyrrha fully consumed the ghoul, shifting through his memories.

"Find anything?" asked Nora.

Pyrrha shook her head, a look of disappointment on her face. "Nothing. He was on a need-to-know basis only." She banged her fist onto the floor in irritation, starting to get angry that they weren't making any progress. "I drank the blood of ten ghouls and it's leading us nowhere."

"Well, considering they're foot soldiers, maybe that's the point? So if they get captured, the enemy doesn't get any sort of intel. Maybe we need to switch targets."

The daughter of Dracula blinked, amazed at what Nora had just said. Said hammer maiden saw the look Pyrrha was giving her and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

"I sometimes get some random moments like that." was her only explanation.

"That may be so, you do have a point." conceded Pyrrha. "We need to find someone with a higher rank than the idiots I've been drinking. Or maybe even a scientist."

The two of the moved out from their position and pressed forward. They then stumble upon two converging paths - one going left, the other going right.

Before Nora could even ask what the plan was, Pyrrha immediately shot down splitting up, bringing up the fact that the former had no stealth capabilities whatsoever and had the high risk of getting caught.

"...you have a point."

So, they went to the left path first. Up ahead, two guards approached. Nora and Pyrrha broke off and leaned against the wall, letting the Sneaking Suit do its work. As they passed by them, the two grabbed the ghouls from behind and held them in a choke hold.

While Pyrrha went to drink her captive's blood, Nora went with the old-fashion way and hovered a knife dangerously close to the ghoul's throat while speaking in the most dangerous tone she could muster.

"Start talking!" she threatened.

The ghoul let a small whimper. He dropped his gun, and he didn't even try to fight back. "Oh God! T-This is actually happening to me?!"

Not amused, Nora bonked him over the the head and tightened her grip on his body. "Start. Talking." She repeated the words with more edge and laced it with more killing intent.

This did the trick as the guard panicked. "O-okay okay! W-we were supposed to be guarding a scientist that has high level clearance to a room somewhere in this base. H-he's working on the computer terminal just right there."

He craned his neck, nodding to direction that they had just gone through. Nora thanked the guard. And she let him go, sheathing back her knife. The guard was baffled and so was Pyrrha.

"W-wait, you're really just gonna let me go?"

Nora shrugged. "Why not? Honestly, you look pretty harmless."

The guard looked at the ginger indignantly, pouting a bit. "I am most certainly NOT harmless. I'll have you know I am a five year vet!"

"Then why is the safety on your gun still on?" questioned Pyrrha, crossing her arms and quirking her eyebrow to prove her point.

The guard slumped forward, admitting to them that he never had any experience in the battlefield, only simulations. He thanked the two of them and turned to leave, before Nora stopped him to ask a question.

"Wait! What's your name?" Pyrrha looked at Nora in bewilderment, who shrugged at the stare. "I'm just curious!"

The masked mook rubbed the back of his head and answered the question. "My name is Jack, as is the name of dad. And my dad's dad. And even my dad's dad's dad! All the firstborns in my family are named Jack."

"A whole clans of Jacks, huh?"

"Yep." Jack said, popping the p. "Anyway, I really need to get going. See you two later."

And he was gone. Pyrrha and Nora waved goodbye to the guy as he disappeared. The two stood there for a minute in silence until Pyrrha spoke up.

"He's actually a decent guy." she admitted.

The two of then swiveled around and focused back on their objective. The way towards the computer terminal was quite uneventful. No guards. No security cameras. No sentry guns. Nothing. Just a long, and boring, walk.

In a matter of minutes, they were already by the entrance , ready to barge in and interrogate the scientist. But first, they needed to know what we're up against.

"How many do you sense, Pyrrha?"

The redhead switched visions and could only see one outline inside of the terminal. She quickly dropped it and smirked. "There's only one. And he doesn't even know we're just outside." Pyrrha looked at Nora and nodded. "Do it."

Nora cracked a smirk and her knuckles. She walked up to the large, metal door and casually ripped it out like it was nothing then thew it inside the terminal. A feminine-sounding shriek echoed from inside, confusing the two.

"I, uh, thought you said that it was a guy!"

Pyrrha shrugged. They rushed into the computer room and saw the scientist on the floor, narrowly dodging the metal door, which was now lodged onto the wall. And the scientist was not what they expected at all. Nora then blurted out the best summary for it.

"Oh my Oum, it's a trap!"

And it was. Not the dangerous ones, but the term usually used as derogatory for males having effeminate qualities, such as face and body structure. The scientist had blue wavy hair, accented by purple streaks, and pure, white eyes with no pupils. He was wearing the standard scientist getup along with a silver locket and some glasses.

Pyrrha took notice of a damp spot right at the scientist's crotch area, along with a small puddle of yellow liquid around him. Nora saw this and had a more vocal reaction.

"Oh wow, he just pissed himself."

The daughter of Dracula face palmed. "Have a little tact, Nora." she muttered to herself.

The scientist looked down, tears forming in his eyes. "Thanks." he muttered sarcastically. "Remind me further that I'm a coward compared to all the others out there."

Sensing that he was no sort of threat, Pyrrha and Nora holstered back their weapon and just looked down on the scientist.

"Who are you?" interrogated Pyrrha softly.

The scientist pushed himself up and adjusted his glasses. "My name's Fuchsia. A-and I'm practically the only 'normal' person here."

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes and checked his readings. "You're not a ghoul. You're human." she realized.

"Yeah. I didn't even wanna work for them. I got tricked into thinking I was accepted into a well-known science institution, and now I ended up here." He fell to his knees, shame hanging over him. "I'm a disgrace to my dad's name. Not only do I look like a girl, I'm a failure who got easily tricked into working for the bad guys."

Nora, who was now feeling bad for her earlier comments, knelt down besides Fuchsia and snared him into a comforting hug. "Hey hey. It's okay. We'll help you get out of here, but we're also gonna need something from you."

Fuchsia looked up, wiping away his tears. "W-what do I need to do?"

Pyrrha placed a hand over her hip and asked, "Are you the one with the high level clearance to a room somewhere in this base?"

"I can't talk about the important stuff until I get rid of this." He rubbed the collar on his neck. "This collar on me will knock me out if I ever try to speak of sensitive information. It's also been blocking me from using my radio system."

"Done."

Pyrrha tightly gripped the collar and easily ripped it in two. Fuchsia rubbed his neck, feeling a bit more at ease with nothing to shock him.

"T-thank you. Now, as you had asked, I am. I've never really entered the room because I was never directed to enter it." Seeing the two girl's crestfallen looks, he then quickly added, "But, I did hear it was supposed to contain some sort of gateway!"

Nora and Pyrrha locked eyes, their brows shot up. "You don't think-?"

"It has to be." Pyrrha nodded at Fuchsia in gratitude. "Thank you. Is there something else we need to know about?"

"Unfortunately, yes. The things I've been doing for this organization. You see both my father and my grandfather have excelled in the science of robotics, creating some nifty androids, robots and mechas for a lot of groups, and even the military! Lucky me, I inherited that same intelligence. Must be what attracted this organization to kidnap me. They forced me into designing a robot that would go beyond my dad and my grandfather's creation - they've taken to calling it Steel Cog, for some reason."

"What exactly is the Steel Cog?" asked Nora for clarification.

Fuchsia adjusted his glasses and took in a deep breath. This will take a while.

"In theory, the Steel Cog is supposed to be the most advanced piece of technology that Millennium has possession of. It's basically a walking tank with some of the capabilities of an Altesian Paladin. And unlike the Paladin, the Cog is much more powerful and has a more versatile arsenal."

Pyrrha and Nora seemed skeptical about this, having faced an Iron Cog months ago during the Battle of Beacon. "Look, Fuchsia, don't take this the wrong way but we've already faced off against a Steel Cog. And it kinda sucked. It was like a bigger and bulkier version of a Paladin. Nothing too special."

The effeminate scientist crossed his arms and looked down in thought. "If that's the case, then what you faced was just one of the early prototypes that I've built."

"Bullshit." said Nora. "The guy that was piloting it called it a weapon to surpass weapons, or something."

"Well, like I said, it was probably just one of the early prototypes. When the development for Steel Cog began, I had in mind the desire to make it similar to the ones my father and grandfather made instead of surpassing it. Unfortunately, I couldn't fully remember its schematics, so I had to experiment with Paladins to either remember more, or think of something better. Luckily, it was the former. With all of the resources that they gave me, I was able to make somewhere about six, before they decided it was enough. Oh, and another thing that I forgot to mention. Something that makes the Paladin pale in comparison into our robots."

"And that is?" inquired the both of them, quite curious as to what it could be.

"It has the ability to hold AND launch a nuke." Fuchsia answered. He sensed their surprise and anger and quickly quelled it before it could be acted upon. "B-But I wasn't dumb enough to put it in. And besides, as far as I know, they don't have a nuke on hand."

"What kind of robot needs a nuke in it anyway?" asked Nora.

"Well, like I said, the ones I built are all based off of my family's past works. And honestly, I wanted to call it by its original name, so when it gets released, it might clue in my family where I am."

Pyrrha took a step forward and asked, "Then, was is it's original name?"

"It was supposed to be called-"

* * *

"Metal Gear... It can't be."

Jaune and Damien were in front of a large mech, easily towering over a Paladin and the Steel Cog that his team had fought. The two of them had just finished scoping out the entire armory and had stumbled upon the room they were in by mistake.

Damien turned to Jaune, looking at him inquisitively. "You know what this is?"

The blond did not tear away his gaze and looking at the giant piece of machinery. "All I know is some bits and pieces from Uncle Anderson. A giant tank bipedal tank that could nations if given the right equipment - Metal Gear."

The incubus didn't press further and instead stared at the robot. For a few more minutes of awed and horrified silence, Jaune broke it.

"We need to contact anyone - Raiden, Morpho, Uncle Anderson, anyone."

As they reached to activate their CODECs, the door behind them slid open and a platoon of ghouls walked in. Both forces met gazes and quickly, the soldiers went into alert.

"Contact!"

Once again, a loud alarm started echoing throughout the entire base, red lights blaring out.

* * *

Pyrrha and Nora looked around in alarm, surprised. The entrance was suddenly blocked by a reinforced metal gate, fortified by some steel bars. Meanwhile Fuchsia was in the corner of the terminal, hiding inside one of the lockers.

"Who fucked up?!" shouted Pyrrha in irritation.

* * *

Nora and Weiss shot up and acted, trying their best in comforting the crying children as the doors flung open, awaking some of those who were sleeping. The teen that they talked to was helping them, having slightly more success than they did.

* * *

The ghouls released the safeties on their gun and fired on the duo. Jaune grabbed Damien and pulled him behind the Metal Gears. The blond pulled out his gun, making sure it was fully loaded. He turned to the redhead and stretched out his hand.

"Give me your gun."

Damien hesitated but complied nonetheless. He ducked under a ricocheting bullet and looked at Jaune, asking him what was the plan. The blond spun the revolver around and pulled back the hammer and cocked his SOCOM pistol.

"I'll run interference. You go invisible and regroup with the others."

"What?!" Damien looked at his friend in disbelief. "Jaune, that's crazy! The two of us can get out of here unharmed. Come on, the soldiers won't even know it."

Jaune shook his head, staying firm on his decision. "That's not an option I'm gonna take. These ghouls may be idiots, but they're dangerous idiots. There's a high chance of them tearing this base apart if only to find us, and I'd rather take the heat then let you guys get hurt."

Before Damien could even rebut, Jaune jumped into the conflict and rapidly shot at the ghouls. A couple of ghouls slumped to the ground, bullet holes apparent in their chests and forehead. Damien gritted his teeth and disappeared, wading through the guards and exited the room. The last thing he saw was Jaune ducking back behind the Metal Gear.

Jaune fired in rapid succession at four ghouls and rolled out of the way of a hail of bullets. He twirled out his revolver and knocked three of the enemies off their feet. With his SOCOM, he ended their lives with a bullet to the heart.

Jaune heard something roll up to him and looked down. A small container that seemed ready to burst. His eyes widened, recognizing what it was.

A flash of bright light invaded his eyes, blinding him. The ghouls took the opportunity and circled around him, attacking in all directions. The blond recovered and whirled around, all the while firing off bullets. Some of them he missed, some he hit.

He pulled out the now empty magazine of his gun and threw it right in one of the ghouls' face. It bounced off the helmet and struck another one, stunning them both. Jaune fired his revolver at the wall three times, the bullets ricocheting and hitting three separate targets.

The Arc Vampire quickly hid back behind the Metal Gear to reload. He was about to slam the magazine into his gun's chamber when the sound of a cocked gun came beside him.

"Don't move!"

There was about three ghouls, all pointing their shotguns right at him. Jaune lightly craned his neck, staring at them. Slowly, he raised his hands in surrender as more guards surrounded him. One of them then came closer.

"Drop the gun!" he demanded.

Jaune released his grip on the two pistols. The SOCOM and the M19 clanked on the ground. The main ghoul whipped his head, two ghouls moving in to pick up the two guns, leaving Jaune completely defenseless.

But they forgot one little fact about the blond. He wasn't without weapons.

Jaune's eyes glowed a dark shade of red, alerting the entire squadron. None of them were able to react as a crimson aura pushed them back. The Arc Vampire dashed forward and broke the arm of one of the ghouls. He grabbed him by the throat and threw him into a couple of his friends.

He picked up his SOCOM and quickly reloaded it. Jaune moved and started shooting. Not to kill, but to wound. He aimed for either the arms, or the legs. He wanted them to suffer. Jaune was relentless, laser focused at hurting the enemy, nothing stopping him-

"Argh!"

Jaune stumbled around, starting to feel woozy. That's when he realized something was pricking his neck. However, he could not even move to pull it out as he fell down, slipping into unconsciousness.

A ghoul came out from behind a pillar and chuckled victoriously. He walked up to the fallen body of Jaune and retrieved the dart he had shot. He holstered his guard and motioned for his comrades to take him away.


	32. Apologies

**... It's been three months, huh? Felt it was longer than that. But that's not what I came to talk about. Some of you have been probably wondering what the hell's been happening. Where are the updates?**

 **They're coming soon, hopefully. Honestly, it's taking me so long because I'm still getting used to being in college, and it had bern fucking hectic and stress-inducing. I had planned to post on Peace Day, but projects and other activities made me postpone it.**

 **That, and I've picked up on GTA V as a hobby. Again, I'm sorry that this wasn't what you were probably expecting. Hopefully, I can get to work on the next two chapters quickly soon.**

 **I'll replace then once I've got the chapters done, till then, bear with me.** **I promise, I won't leave this story just yet.**

 **PS. I hate Jaune's new hair.**


	33. Regretful Announcement

Hey, remember when I said the updates are hopefully coming soon? Well, I guess I lied. I've been trying and trying to write out the next chapters, but I just can't seem to do it.

I've been trying to put in effort in making them, but every time I do, just stop. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm no longer that interested in continuing this. My passion for this has all but faded. I'm sorry to say disappoint what few readers that still read this, but this story will be placed in hiatus till further announcement.

Thanks for sticking by.


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